Markets Continue to Rebound

• March 15, 2007
• Darren Wong

U.S. stocks were buoyed by corporate
takeovers, jobs data, and strong overseas markets. 

The S&P 500 gained 0.4% in Thursday’s
session to lead the major averages.  Top gainers included
Freeport McMoran
(
FCX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Dow Chemical
(
DOW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
which added 6.7% and 5.5% respectively.

Crude for April delivery fell
by 1% to at $57.56 per barrel amid today’s meeting of OPEC
ministers in Austria. Reports out of Vienna indicate that OPEC,
which produces over 40 percent of the world’s oil, will keep
production at its current levels.  Gold futures
moved higher by 1% to $647.10 an
ounce.

Around Europe, the U.K.’s
FTSE 100 index rose 1.71% to 6,103.50, while France’s CAC 40 index
surged up 1.77% to 5,389.85 and Germany’s DAX index climbed 2.14%
to 6,585.47.

Our

Daily Market Bias page has been updated with new indicators to
determine if there is a strong bias for the market to move higher
(or lower) the following day.  These tables can help you to
pinpoint market conditions that have historically led to
significant up or down moves over the next 1 to 5 days. 

Click here for more information on our Daily Market Bias
indicators.

Stocks in Motion

Intercontinental Exchange ( ICE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Offers To Acquire CBOT Holdings ( BOT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) In Stock-for-stock Transaction (full story).  ICE shares lost nearly 3%, while BOT shares jumped 17%. Bear Stearns ( BSC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Q1 Profit Rises 8% On Revenue Growth; EPS Tops Street View (full story).  BSC shares gained 2%. Cisco Systems ( CSCO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) To Acquire WebEx ( WEBX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) For About $3.2 Bln., Or $57.00 Per Share, In Cash; WebEx Shares Soar On News (full story).  CSCO shares moved fractionally lower, while WEBX shares soared by 22%. CVS ( CVS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Shareholders Approve Merger With Caremark ( CMX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) (full story).  CVS shares rose 3%, while CMX shares gained 2.75%.  IndyMac Bancorp ( NDE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Clarifies Position As Prime/Alt-A Mortgage Lender; Forecasts Higher NPAs In FY07 (full story).  NDE shares added 1.5%. For more stories as they happen, go to our Breaking News section.

Market Snapshot

Dow +26.28 12,159.68 NASDAQ +6.96 2,378.70 S&P 500 +5.11 1,392.28   NYSE NASDAQ Volume 2,810,286,000 1,674,606,000 Advances 2257 1853 Declines 1015 1168 Up Volume 1875 879 Down Volume 722 684 New Highs 83 68 New Lows 26 62

Strongest/Weakest Sectors

Strongest Sectors Weakest Sectors Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI) Amex Oil Index (XOI) Amex Airline Index (XAL) CBOE Oil Index (OIX) S&P Chemicals Index (CEX) Amex Computer Technology Index (XCI)

Economic News

Net Foreign Purchases $97.4 bln vs $60.0 bln consensus, prior $15.6 bln Core PPI m/m +0.4% vs +0.2% consensus PPI m/m +1.3% vs +0.5% consensus Initial Claims 318K vs 325K consensus

Darren Wong

Associate Editor

darrenw@tradingmarkets.com