Stocks Try to Hold Gains After Confidence Boost

Stocks struggled to hang onto gains Tuesday after a report showed consumer confidence jumped to its highest level this year but swine-flu fears nagged at the market. Banks took a hit amid fears that Citigroup and Bank of America may need more capital.
he Conference Board's consumer-confidence index shot up to 39.2 in April from an upwardly revised 26.9 in March. A gauge of expectations for the future also soared.

"The sharp increase in the expectations index suggests that consumers believe the economy is nearing a bottom, however this index remains well below levels associated with strong economic growth," Lynn Franco, director of the group's Consumer Research Center, said in a statement.

Bank stocks skidded as U.S. regulators have told Citigroup [C 2.89 -0.18 (-5.86%) ] and Bank of America [BAC 8.25 -0.67 (-7.51%) ] that they may need to raise more capital following government stress testing of the two bank, the Wall Street Journal reported.

FULL STORY http://www.cnbc.com/id/30456257