Surging Consumer Confidence Boosts Wall Street

A more upbeat mood among consumers is spreading to Wall Street.

Stocks jumped Tuesday after a research group reported consumer sentiment rose in May to the highest level since September.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index vaulted to 54.9 from 40.8 last month, soaring past the 42.3 figure that economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting.

Investors watch that indicator closely to get a sense of whether consumers may start shopping more or making bigger purchases such as cars and homes, which could help get the economy going again. Spending by consumers makes up more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

Stocks had opened lower after North Korea reportedly defied the United Nations by firing two short-range missiles after detonating a nuclear bomb underground on Monday. The U.N. Security Council condemned the test as a violation of international law.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 130.62, or 1.6 percent, to 8,407.94. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 13.47, or 1.5 percent, to 900.47, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 37.03, or 2.2 percent, to 1,729.04.

Investors shook off a mostly downbeat reading on the housing market as S&P/Case Shiller reported a 18.7 percent drop in its March home price index. The decrease was a little bigger than in February, and slightly larger than economists predicted.

Investors have been questioning whether the stock market’s massive two-month rally can be sustained given the continuing weakness in the global economy. The political tension between North Korea and the other countries, including the United States, South Korea and China, gave investors around the world another reason to be cautious.

5/26/2009 10:45 AM MADLEN READ AP Business Writer NEW YORK