Stocks are giving back some of the previous day’s big gains as consumer spending dips

Personal spending fell 0.5 percent in September, the Labor Department reported Friday, in line with forecasts. That follows a 1.3 percent jump in August fueled by the government’s popular Cash for Clunkers car rebate program.

The market is paying close attention to indicators of consumer spending, which is still in a slump despite improvements in other parts of the economy such as manufacturing and housing. Spending by consumers makes up a major part of the U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones industrials jumped nearly 200 points on Thursday following a strong report on gross domestic product growth in the third quarter, but many economists worry that much of that growth came from government stimulus measures and that weak spending by consumers will continue to hold the economy back.

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