U.S. consumer confidence jumps, stocks rise

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index jumped to 131.6 this month from 126.5 in December. Economists polled by Dow Jones has expected consumer confidence to rise to 128. U.S. stocks ticked higher following the data’s release, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading around its session high.

Consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved in January. Those claiming business conditions are “good” increased from 39.0 percent to 40.8 percent, while those claiming business conditions are “bad” decreased, from 11.0 percent to 10.4 percent. Consumers’ appraisal of the job market also improved. Those saying jobs are “plentiful” increased from 46.5 percent to 49.0 percent, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” declined, from 13.0 percent to 11.6 percent.

Consumers were also more optimistic about the short-term outlook. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions will improve over the next six months was virtually unchanged at 18.8 percent, while those expecting business conditions will worsen declined from 8.8 percent to 8.4 percent.

Consumers’ outlook for the labor market was more upbeat. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead increased from 15.5 percent to 17.2 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs declined from 13.9 percent to 13.4 percent. Regarding their short-term income prospects, the percentage of consumers expecting an improvement declined from 22.7 percent to 22.0 percent, while the proportion expecting a decrease was virtually unchanged at 7.7 percent.

MacDailyNews Take: The tide continues to rise! A strong economy obviously benefits makers of coveted goods such as Apple. It also benefits AAPL shareholders. Plus the multi-year super cycle that’ll be kicked off by this year’s “iPhone 5G” looms!