Stock Market Drops, Even With Increased Income and Spending

The stock market has seen better days, as many Americans know and feel. On Monday, stock futures fell slightly despite reports of increased consumer spending and personal income.According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, consumer spending rose 0.4% in July and income rose 0.2%. On average, spending is up 0.1% over four months, while incomes have averaged a 2.5% gain since April.While these increases would indicate a positive reflection on stocks, the reality shows otherwise.The Dow Jones industrial average is down 57, or 0.6 percent, at 10,096. The S&P 500 is down 6, or 0.5 percent, at 1,059, while the Nasdaq composite is down 12, or 0.6 percent, at 2,141.Consumers are slowly easing back into spending. The increased trends show that spenders are more confident in the state of their savings, but decreased confidence in the economy has led to less investing in big purchases.Meanwhile, investors are wary as the latest reports on employment data will be provided this week. Typically, job growth is the best sign of recovery.