Consumers grew more optimistic about the U.S. economy heading into the contentious presidential election even as job openings hit multi-year lows, according to separate reports released Tuesday. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for October rose more than 11% to a reading of 138, its biggest one-month acceleration since March 2021. Along with that, the board’s expectations index of future conditions jumped nearly 8%, to a reading of 89.1 that