Stronger than expected consumer confidence results didn't matter to traders today. Concerns about Greece and other PIIGS nations dominated the market after S&P cut Portugal's debt ratings. Testimony from Goldman Sachs in Washington D.C. captured almost all of the day's media attention. The closing bell also came in effectively at the lows of the trading day.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,991.99 -213.04 (-1.90%)
Nasdaq 2,471.47 -51.48 (-2.04%)
S&P 500 1,183.71 -28.34 (-2.34%)

The DJIA has not moved much since mid-month and today was no exception with all three major indexes close to flat.

The Conference Board said that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 52.9 for December, up from up from 50.6 in November. Both numbers are extremely low compared to a reading of closer to 90 in an expanding economy. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home price rose a tiny .4% from September to October, but the most recent figure for the housing market was still down 7.3% from last year. Housing prices may be about to find a bottom, but, if so, the case for it is still shaky.

The unofficial closing bell numbers:

Dow 10,545.41 -1.67 (-0.02%)
S&P 500 1,126.19 -1.59 (-0.14%)
Nasdaq 2,288.40 -2.68 (-0.12%)

The retail industry got some good news today as the Commerce Department announced that retail sales rose more than expected last month.

Before today's report, analysts had predicted that we would see a 0.7% jump in retail sales last month, but the actual figures showed a much higher 1.3% increase during the month. This comes on the heels of a 1.1% increase in October.

You are probably wondering, is there an index that measures consumer optimism and pessimism? The answer is yes. It is the Investor's Business Daily and TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence or IBD/TIPP.Their Optimism Index slipped to 46.8 in December, from 47.9 in November. Readings above 50 indicate optimism, while those below 50 indicated pessimism.

The index is now 3.2 points below its 12 month average of 48 and 2.4 points above its reading of 44.4 in December 2007, when the recession began.

Oil prices dropped a bit today, as investors weigh news that consumer confidence took a hit in September.

Today's move was not a sizable one, but further evidence that investors are concerned over just how strong the current economic recovery really is. News came out today that consumer confidence is down in September as more Americans are concerned over the weak job market.

As we continue to question whether or not America is emerging from the recession, one indicator that a lot of people are paying attention to is consumer confidence. Unfortunately, consumer confidence fell unexpectedly this month, as more and more people are worried about their jobs.

According to the New York-based Conference Board, its consumer confidence index dipped to 53.1 in September, down from 54.5 in August.

The dip ends a three month streak, and is being blamed mostly on Americans concerns over job security. The drop raises concerns over any economic rebound, and comes at a bad time for retailers that are gearing up for the upcoming holiday season.

Home improvement retailer Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) will be reporting its second quarter earnings before the market opens on Monday, and there are some positive indicators that it may have been a good quarter for the company.

Over the past year, weak consumer confidence has put a strain on Lowe's, as home owners who have worried about job security and a weak housing market have put off home repair projects. As a result, Lowe's stock fell as low as $13.00 back in March, but has rebounded nicely over the past few months to its current trading price of $22.71.

Need another 'green shoot' to bolster your investment sentiment? Try this one: confidence in the global economy surged to a 22-month high in August on signs the worst global recession since the end of World War II is nearing an end.

The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index soared to 58.12 this month from 39.13 in July. The survey sampled more than 2,300 Bloomberg users August 3-7.

When we looked at oil prices yesterday, we noted that the market was going to pay close attention to today's inventory report from the Depart of Energy.

Oil was already weak after yesterday's report on consumer confidence, and today's oil inventory report showed a much larger than expected increase in oil inventories, pushing prices sharply lower.

The past two weeks we have seen oil prices steadily trade higher, but the sellers came out today in reaction to rising concern over consumer confidence and pushed prices lower.

Oil dropped under $67 a barrel today as Wall Street learned that consumer confidence had dropped for the second straight month in July. A major reason for low consumer confidence can be attributed to rapidly rising unemployment in the country.

The nations high unemployment rate impacted consumer confidence again in July, the second straight month that people's faith in the economy has wavered.

The Conference Board's index that measures consumer confidence dipped to 46.6, down from June's measure of 49.3. The good news is that we are well above the low we hit back in February at 25.3.

A big factor influencing confidence these days is the nation's unemployment rate, which is expected to rise through 10% in the not too distant future, with 15 states already reporting 10% or greater unemployment.

AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) is due to report earnings tomorrow before the market opens, and the company is expected to post another quarterly loss.

The current recession has been tough on steel makers, and Ohio based AK Steel is no exception. The company has been forced to lower prices and lay off workers in the wake of slumping demand for its steel products.

We have all been waiting to hear news that the housing market has rebounded, and we got a little indication that things were improving today as homebuilder sentiment rose this month to its highest level since September.

According to the National Association of Home Builders its index of builder confidence jumped two points in July to 17. This is the first time the index has hit 17 since last September.

I guess that when the United States sneezes, the world catches a cold. Consumer sentiment was announced to be circling the drain in the United States and the world economy dropped for the first time in four months.

The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index fell to 39.13 this month – from 43.57 last month. Your benchmark: anything below 50 means that there are more pessimists than optimists. In the United States, index fell from 36.7 to 29.5, suggesting that we're more pessimistic than the rest of the world.

The housing market remains in peril and the labor market isn't much better. But American consumers are hoping that change is coming for the better, according to those polled by the Conference Board.

The group's monthly index of consumer confidence jumped in May to 54.9 (the highest reading in eight months) from April's revised reading of 40.8. This nearly 35% move is the largest one-month increase since April 2003. What's more, it is well above economists' expectations of 42.0.

The number of respondents noting that jobs are "hard to get" declined slightly to 44.7% from 46.6%. On the flip side, those describing available jobs as plentiful edged up to 5.7% from 4.9% last month. In other news, the number of Americans who plan on buying a car in the next six months rose to 5.5%, the highest figure in a year. Just 2.3%, however, plan on buying homes in this so-called buyers' market.