U.S. stocks fell and the S&P’s 500 Index retreated from an eightmonth high as consumer confidence trailed projections and companies from Office Depot Inc. to Coach Inc. posted worse?thanestimated results.

American Express Co. and Exxon Mobil Corp. helped lead the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower as the Conference Board report reinforced concern that rising unemployment is undermining consumer sentiment. The Conference Board’s  onfidence index dropped to 46.6, a second consecutive decline, following a reading of 49.3 in June, a report from the New York?based group showed today. The figure reached a record low of 25.3 in February.

Benchmark indexes slumped today even after a report showed home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell less than forecast, a sign the market is stabilizing. The S&P/Case?Shiller home?price index dropped 17.1 % in May from a year earlier, the  smallest decline in nine months, following an 18.1 % slide in April.

While the S&P 500 is up 11 % since July 10 after companies from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Mattel Inc. beat estimates, Bloomberg data shows per?share profits have dropped 27 % on average for companies that reported since June 17.

Most Asian stocks fell, snapping the MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s 11?day rally, as declines by commodity producers overshadowed gains by steel and electronics companies.

Rio Tinto Group, the world’s No. 3 mining company, lost 2.2 % in Sydney, following a slump in copper prices. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia’s biggest oil refiner, sank 2.8 % in Hong Kong as the Chinese government cut gasoline prices.  FE  Holdings Inc., Japan’s second?largest steelmaker, jumped 3.9 % on brokerage upgrades. Hyundai Steel, South Korea’s biggest maker of construction steel, advanced 4.5 % to 66,800 won. The company reported secondquarter profit that beat nalyst estimates on a stronger won and lower costs.

India’s central bank may start reversing its interest?rate cuts in early 2010 as food and energy prices fan inflation, after it kept borrowing costs unchanged yesterday to bolster economic growth.

“On the way forward, the Reserve Bank will have to reverse the expansionary measures to subdue inflationary pressures while preserving the growth momentum,” Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said. Inflation may “creep up” to about 5 % by March  next year compared with an April estimate of 4 %, he said.