"That's one of the reasons the consumer stocks were in the vanguard."

That effort is paying off in lower operating costs at a time when consumer stocks are beginning to return to favor.

Then there is the theory that consolidation could set a fire under consumer stocks.

But consumer stocks, which have been hit hard recently, were weak during the session.

One is that consumer stocks are the place to be.

Going forward, think of these companies as consumer cyclical stocks.

But consumer stocks without a growth story have continued to suffer.

And consumer stocks have risen since November 1991 by 2m bags, to 18.6m, which should ease the pressure on the market.

The first place he suggested looking was among "critical consumer stocks."

It fell 6 1/4, nearly 11 percent, to 50 7/8, pulling down other consumer stocks.