Stocks get little help from consumer confidence

11/27/2012
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Investors are taking little comfort from the latest deal to deliver financial aid to Greece and better readings on consumer confidence and durable goods orders in the U.S.

Indexes were little changed on Wall Street at midday Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 18 points at 12,949. The Standard & Poor's 500 was flat at 1,406 and the Nasdaq composite index was up one point at 2,977.

Investors were unmoved by two reports that suggested that the outlook for the U.S. economy may be improving.

Consumer confidence rose this month to the highest level in almost five years, pushed up by a steady improvement in hiring. The government reported separately that U.S. companies increased their orders of machinery and equipment last month.