The stock market is slightly up today even though a slew of bad economic news including lower consumer confidence, rising oil prices, and more bad housing news. Let’s take a look at each one of these.

Lower Consumer Confidence and Rising Oil Prices

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 63.4 – that was more than the expected 65.4 from most analysts. This was caused by peoples’ worries about rising gas and food prices along with other costs. The decline follows a three-year high in February and reversed 5 months of steady improvements. Analysts are now beginning to question the willingness of shoppers to spend in the coming months. The national average price for a gallon of gas is at $3.584 today and we still have the summer, which is usually the most expensive time of the year for gas, to go through.

Housing Market Takes Another Hit

Home prices in most major cities fell again this month and in some cities hit their lowest levels in 11 years. Only one market saw home prices rise and that was Washington. Their home prices rose by 0.1 percent month over month.

It’s hard to believe the market is up right now given all the negative economic news, but hey expect the unexpected. The Dow is up 53 points, the Nasdaq is up 16 points, and the S&P is up 4 points.