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U.S. stocks rally harder after confidence number

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks rose further after the University of Michigan-Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index fell to an initial read of 72 in July from 73.2 in June. The confidence number was off some from the prior month, but still "way off the bottoms," said Stuart Freeman, chief equity strategist, Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis. "We're certainly not looking at boom times, but we still are seeing consumer spending, At some point the consumer needs to make some purchases to get on with his or her life, and we're seeing signs of that," he added. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 161.43 points to 12,734.86. The S&P 500 index rose 16.95 points to 1,351.71. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 31.01 points to 2,897.20.