Fed Keeps Rates Steady

Nasdaq leads indices to the downside. Crude oil
futures closed  fractionally lower to $61.02.

Stocks on the Move

Goldman Sachs
(
GS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Q4 Profit Up 93%, EPS Tops Consensus, Revenue Up
47% (full
story
).  GS shares fall by 1%.

Sabre Holdings
(
TSG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
To
Be Acquired By Silver Lake Partners, Texas Pacific Group For $5 Bln; Stock Up (full
story
).  TSG shares rose 5%.

Merck
(
MRK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Reveals New
Strategy To Enhance Growth; Reaffirms FY06, FY07 Outlook (full
story
).  MRK shares trade lower by nearly 1%.

Epix Pharma
(
EPIX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Plans To End 2006 With More Than $100 Mln In Cash And Marketable
Securities (full
story
).  EPIX shares soar by 29%.

Dollar General
(
DG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

Slips To Loss In Q3 On Charges; Net Sales Rise, But Miss Street View; Comp. Up
2% (full
story
).  DG shares rise by 1%.

Best Buy
(
BBY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Q3
Profit Rises Nearly 9% On Revenue Growth; EPS Misses Estimate; Backs FY07
Outlook (full
story
).  BBY shares drop nearly 5%.

For more stories as they happen, go to our Breaking News section.

Market Snapshot

Dow


-12.90

12,315.58

Nasdaq

-11.26

2,431.60

S&P 500


-1.48

1,411.56

NYSE


NASDAQ

Volume


2,638,084,000

1,900,533,000

Advances


1406

1120

Declines


1862

1919

Up Volume


830

511

Down Volume


1543

1263

New Highs


267

110

New Lows


23

47

Strongest/Weakest Sectors

Strongest Sectors

Weakest Sectors

North American Telecommunications Index (XTC)


Amex Airline Index (XAL)

S&P Banking Index (BIX)

PHLX Gold and Silver Sector Index (XAU)

S&P Insurance
Index (IUX)

Computer Hardware
Index (HWI)

Economic News

FOMC leaves rates unchanged at 5.25% as expected

Fed says despite recent
mixed indicators, economy likely to expand at moderate place

Treasury
Budget -$75.6 bln vs -$73.0 bln consensus

Trade Balance -$58.9 bln vs -$63.0 bln consensus

Darren Wong
darrenw@tradingmarkets.com

Use our most popular trading tool to find out how your stocks will move in the next 5 days.