Strong consumer confidence figures couldn't get investors excited today, and stocks are falling to end the month of May. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index hit 84.5 despite pesky unemployment and stagnant income figures. That's the highest confidence reading since July 2007, but it wasn't enough to push markets higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.44%) is down 0.47% as of 3:15 p.m. EDT, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.27%) has slid 0.54% today.
Procter & Gamble (PG 1.26%) is leading the Dow lower, and investors have given back all of the gains from the day A. G. Lafley said he was returning as CEO. Today, the reaction is partly due to four executives being promoted to contend to be Lafley's successor. The company will reorganize into four sectors with a president for each, although these don't appear to be the only CEO candidates. Lafley is only expected to be CEO for two or three years, so it's important to line up the next CEO soon.
The price action in P&G lately is another reminder of why Foolish investors buy stocks for the long term and not on news events that shock the market in the short term. When Lafley returned as CEO the stock popped, but it didn't change the fundamentals for the company, and shares have now corrected to where they were before the announcement.
On the plus side, Intel (INTC +2.59%) stock is charging 1.3% higher today after Reuters reported that Samsung has chosen the chip maker to power its next-generation Galaxy tablet. This would be a huge win for Intel, which has been lagging in the mobile market for years but has recently introduced chips that use less energy and increase performance. This is the first major design win and could start momentum for Intel in mobile.
