NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A closely watched measure of consumer confidence in the United States rose in April, a published report said Friday, coming in better than analysts expected.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 83.2 from 77.6 in March, according to market sources quoted by Reuters. Economists, on average, expected a reading of 78.1, according to Reuters.

"This provides a big shot in the arm to the notion that geopolitical concerns were holding back the economy," said Anthony Chan, chief economist at Banc One Investment Advisors. "Otherwise we wouldn't have seen such a big pop. This probably exaggerates how excited consumers will be after all is said and done, but it gets the direction right."

The index's current conditions component, measuring how consumers feel about the present state of the economy, rose to 94.8 from 90 in March, according to Reuters. The expectations index, measuring how consumers feel about the future, rose to 75.7 from 69.6 in March.

The report helped support U.S. stock prices, which were higher in early trading. Treasury prices fell.

Economists pay close attention to U.S. consumers, whose spending makes up more than two-thirds of gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of the economy.

In recent months, the start of the war in Iraq, rising energy prices, and continued weakness in the job market had driven consumer confidence to 10-year lows.

Most economists have hoped that the resolution of the war would lead to a bounce back in consumer confidence and spending, which would help fuel a broader economic rebound.

Friday's report from the Commerce Department that retail sales bounced back in March, taken with the consumer sentiment survey, would certainly seem to reinforce the case for optimism.

Other economists, however, are worried that the post-war pop will be short-lived. Their fear is that excesses of debt and production capacity, the leftovers of the 1990s investment boom, still have to be worked out, and that corporate earnings, suffering from the pre-war weakness and high commodity and energy prices, will discourage businesses from spending and hiring.