Consumer Confidence Falls; Retail Suffers (Update)

(Nielsen's global confidence survey and ICSC data added.)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- July is not turning out to be a very sunny month.

Consumer confidence fell for the second time this summer, as worries about the job market heighten.

The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 46.6, down from 49.3 in June, missing economists' expectations of a reading of 49. A reading above 90 would signal the economy is stronger.

The Present Situation Index also decreased to 23.4 from 25 last month, while the Expectations Index dropped to 62 from 65.5 in June.

Retail shares were mostly down after the data was released. Wal-Mart Stores(WMT Quote) slipped 0.4% to $48.77, Amazon.com(AMZN Quote) shed 1.5% to $83.21, GameStop(GME Quote) was off 2% to $23.06, and Netflix(NFLX Quote) fell 2% to $40.90.

But the biggest losers included Office Depot(ODP Quote) and Coach(COH Quote), both of which reported quarterly earnings earlier in the morning.

Shares of Office Depot plunged 14% to $4.60 after posting a bigger-than-expected loss in its second quarter.

Coach tanked 6% to $26.62, despite meeting quarterly expectations and announcing some new growth initiatives.

But while confidence is falling in the United States, overseas shoppers are perkier. On Monday Nielsen reported that global consumer confidence jumped to 82 in June, an increase of 5 points from March.

While most countries -- including Japan, Russia and Turkey -- saw improvements in confidence, the United States, New Zealand and Germany remain pessimistic.

Still, although consumer confidence may be dismal, this pessimism doesn't seem to persist when it comes time to actually spend. Retail sales for the week ended July 28 increased 1%, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. This is the second week this month sales saw a slight increase.

ICSC, though, still expects July same-store sales to be off by about 5.5% due to leaner clearance merchandise compared with last year.

--Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York.