'Breakout Range'

The comfort gauge "moved to within breakout range of its recession zone," Gary Langer, president of Langer Research Associates LLC in New York, which compiles the index for Bloomberg, said in a statement. "Many groups reached recent highs. Notable among them: political independents, the key swing voters in national elections."

Confidence among households not aligned with any political party rose to minus 33.4, the highest level since January 2008, and Republican sentiment climbed to an almost two-month high of minus 45. Confidence was little changed among Democrats.

The increase in sentiment partly reflects progress on the jobs front. Payrolls rose by 243,000 workers last month, the biggest gain since April, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent, the Labor Department said on Feb. 3.

Sentiment among respondents ages 55 to 64 climbed to an almost four-year high, today's report showed, while confidence among homeowners rose to the highest level since December 2010.

Higher stock prices and signs real estate is on the mend may be shoring up sentiment among both groups. The Dow Jones Industrial Average this week climbed to the highest level since May 2008, while sales of previously owned homes rose in December to an 11-month high.

Sysco Corp., the biggest North American distributor of food to restaurants, is among companies that may benefit from more upbeat attitudes.

"To a large extent, our performance in the second half of the year will be heavily influenced by how much the recent uptick in consumer confidence translates into increased consumer spending on meals away from home," Chief Executive Officer Bill DeLaney said on a Feb. 6 conference call with analysts.

Not all sentiment measures are climbing in tandem. While the Thomson/Reuters University of Michigan Index rose to an almost one-year high in January, the New York-based Conference Board's gauge dropped after reaching an eight-month peak in December.

Increasing fuel costs pose a threat to the rebound in sentiment. A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline climbed to $3.49 as of Feb. 8 from a 10-month low of $3.21 in December, according to AAA, the nation's largest automobile association.