Consumer Shares Gain on Strong Confidence Data -- Consumer Roundup

Consumer-sector shares advanced on strong consumer-confidence data.

The University of Michigan said its final reading of consumer sentiment was 97.1 in May, compared with April's final reading of 97 and May's initial reading of 97.7. "That falls into the category of 'soft data' and what investors are looking for is that to be manifested in actual consumer spending," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

There are some signs that consumers are reining in rather than increasing outlays. "Consumer credit creation has slowed, adding to concerns that demand has weakened," Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research analysts wrote in a note to clients.

-By Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 26, 2017 18:22 ET (22:22 GMT)