Ahead of the Bell: Consumer Sentiment

Wall Street expects the final Reuters/University of Michigan monthly index of consumer sentiment to come in at 56.9, according to a consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR.

That's up slightly from a preliminary reading of 56.7, but down from May's reading of 59.8, which was the lowest since June of 1980. The report will be released Friday at 9:55 a.m. EDT.

Wall Street pays close attention to consumer sentiment as its corollary, consumer spending, represents about 70 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. The Reuters/University of Michigan survey is based on telephone interviews with 500 respondents who are asked about their attitudes toward and expectations for the U.S. economy.

According to Global Insight, extremely weak consumer sentiment levels are offsetting the potential positive impact on spending of federal rebate checks being mailed to taxpayers.

In its May survey, the Reuters/University of Michigan index found that nine out of 10 consumers thought the economy was in recession, with many citing unfavorable news about rising prices, lost jobs, slowing economic growth and the continuing fallout from the credit and housing crises.

On Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported that new homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 512,000 units in May, down 2.5 percent from the April level. The median price of a new home sold last month fell to $231,000, down 5.7 percent from a year ago.

Big builders such as Centex Corp., Pulte Homes Inc., Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., Beazer Homes USA Inc. and Toll Brothers Inc. are facing a glut of unsold properties as mortgages have become harder to get and home sales have slowed. Although home builders have slashed prices, many buyers remain on the sidelines.