The market started off on the wrong foot today, with stocks falling right out of the open. Standard and Poors said that home prices fell 3.2% in the second quarter, the largest drop in home prices since the company started its nationwide housing index. Consumer confidence numbers were also released this morning, and the consumer has certainly lost some confidence in this economy of late. The August reading for consumer confidence came in at 105.0, slightly above estimates of 104.5, but well below last month's 111.9. Both of these numbers gave wall 
street traders plenty of reasons to sell.
The Dow currently trades down by 125 points, while the Nasdaq has fallen even farther on a percentage basis, down 31 points. The broader S&P 500 index is down 17 points, or 1.15%. The energy and basic materials sectors lead the way down this morning falling 2.3% and 2.2% respectively. All the major integrated oils trade down on the day, with Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) losing 1.7%, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) down 1.93%, and BP PLC (NYSE:BP) down 2.6%. Construction companies, which have been strong in recent weeks, are a major down sector today. Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) is down 2.85%, and Foster Wheeler Limited (NYSE:FWLT) is down 2.56%.
All of the major sectors are lower, but once again today the relative strength is in areas that are not economically sensitive. The Proctor and Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) trades up by 0.13%, and Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) trades up by 0.16%.
The housing and consumer confidence numbers are concerning for the wall street bulls because an extended slump in the economy could severely hurt the financial markets. The housing market shows no sign of improvement, and you have to think that constant real estate market problems will eventually catch up to the overall economy. The consumer confidence number is likely mostly a product of the market fluctuations that occurred in the past month, and the stories surrounding all of the credit market problems. The real thing to watch will be to see if this is the beginning of a downtrend in consumer confidence or if this is just a blip on the radar. Consumers have continued to hold up reasonably well throughout all the problems in the past few auarters, but if they begin to bail out the market must pay attention.
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