S&P 500 Closes at New Record High

U.S. stocks rallied after Fed minutes were released
this afternoon. The Fed will continue being vigilant on inflation
and noted that housing could have a more drastic effect on the
economy in the coming months. 

The major indices all finished with gains of 0.8%.
Top blue-chip gainers today included Caterpillar and Alcoa with
gains of 3.6% and 2.2% respectively.

June crude futures rose by 0.5% to $63.49 per barrel. Gold
futures for August delivery fell 0.6% to $659.30 an ounce.

Around Europe, Germany’s DAX Index
lost 0.2% to close at 7,764.97, France’s CAC 40 Index lost 0.24%
to 6,042.15, and Britain’s FTSE 100 Index closed fractionally
lower to 6,602.10.

Today’s

PowerRatings Heat Map
has become more bearish after yesterday’s runup. The
weakest looking sectors are currently Computer Software, Drugs,
and Specialty Retail. Click here for a free trial to see all



Click here
to see our new list of indicators that includes

Gaps Down 5% or More
,

2-Period RSI Below 2
,

Stocks Up 10% or More
.  Historically proven edges make
these a great place to start making a watch list.
 


Stocks in
Motion

Google
(
GOOG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Confirms FTC Probe Into
$3.1 Bln DoubleClick Buy; Enters Anti-malware Arena Through GreenBorder
Acquisition (full
story
).  GOOG shares rose by 2.3%.

Pulte Homes
(
PHM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Reveals Restructuring
Plan, To Cut Workforce By About 16% (full
story
). PHM shares fell by 0.25%.


InterContinental Exchange

(
ICE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
And CBOE
(
BOT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Strike Deal On
Rights Exercise (full
story
). ICE shares rose by 0.7%, while BOT shares added 2.6%.


Polo Ralph Lauren
(
RL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Q4 Profit Rises 17%, EPS Tops Street View;
Guides Q1; Trims FY08 EPS Forecast (full
story
). RL shares gained 3.2%.

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

Market Snapshot

Dow

+111.74 13,633.08

NASDAQ

+20.53 2,592.59

S&P 500

+12.12 1,530.23

 

NYSE NASDAQ

Volume

2,841,798,000 1,947,892,000

Advances

2217 1646

Declines

1070 1380

Up Volume

1956 1201

Down Volume

616 582

New Highs

180 148

New Lows

38 56


   



Strongest/Weakest Sectors

Strongest Sectors

Weakest Sectors

Deutsche Bank Energy Bank Sector Index (DXE) Amex Pharmaceutical Index (DRG)
Nasdaq Other Finance Index (OFINX) S&P Healthcare Index (HCX)
Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG) Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payors Index (HMO)


Economic
News

FED says housing to
‘weigh’ on growth longer than anticipated


Fed-Maintaining current rate likely to foster moderate growth, gradual
ebbing in core inflation

FOMC: Core Inflation ‘Uncomfortably High’, must come down

Fed Minutes-Risks to economic activity tilted to downside
but risks have “diminished slightly”

Darren Wong

Associate Editor

darrenw@tradingmarkets.com