Index of Leading Indicators Unchanged

The U.S. index of leading economic indicators was unchanged in June, the third time in the last four months without an increase, dampened by falling stock prices and sagging consumer confidence.

The lack of movement in the Conference Board’s measure of future economic activity followed a rise of 0.6% in May, larger than previously reported.

The Labor Department said in a separate report that new claims for unemployment insurance fell last week by 28,000 to 379,000, the lowest level in 17 months. The more stable four-week moving average of new claims,edged down to 391,000, the lowest level since the beginning of March.