Surprise bounce in consumer confidence as global market worries ease

Consumer sentiment bounced unexpectedly in August, according to the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute survey, as respondents put the global market ructions of last month behind them to focus on property values at home and continuing jobs growth.

That's Westpac's chief economist Bill Evans take on Wednesday's results, which show a robust 7.8 per cent jump in the headline sentiment index, from 92.2 in July to 99.5 in August. However, any reading below 100 still means pessimists outnumber optimists.