Analysts played down the effects of the September 11 terrorist attacks on U.S. consumer confidence following the release of the Conference Board's monthly survey Tuesday. Confidence appears to have been turning downward before the attacks, as seen in the University of Michigan consumer confidence survey, due to be revised Friday. The Conference Board's survey, which fell to 97.6 in September from 114.0 in August, seemed to suggest the same trend. The Conference Board itself noted that "while survey results conducted before and after the terrorist attacks of September 11 differed slightly, there was no reversal in the downtrend of the index."