Consumer Confidence Rises in September

Consumer confidence rose in September, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

The month’s preliminary reading rose to 79.2, from 74.3 in August, the survey said.

Economists had forecast the gauge would dip to 74, Bloomberg reported.

The survey’s index of current conditions asks Americans if they are better off than they were a year ago and if it is a good time to buy big-ticket items.