MORNING BUSINESS MINUTE, THURS., MAR. 16, 2006

The Fed had good things to say, reporting an expanding economy during the first two months of 2006, all courtesy of the Fed Beige Book. We also saw chemical giant DuPont post improved earnings forecasts for 2006, which impressed investors. We saw the Dow rise +58.43 (+0.52%) to close at 11,209.77. The NASDAQ rose +15.94 (+0.69%) to finish at 2,311.84 and the S&P 500 rose +5.54 (+0.43%) to finish the session at 1,303.02. Local stocks essentially split the session. Tyson Foods (TSN) lost -2.41% to close at $12.94. JB Hunt (JBHT) added +0.43% to close at $23.55. Acxiom (ACXM) lost -0.34% to finish at $26.21. Wal-Mart (WMT) lost -0.11% to close at $45.32, and Alltel (AT) added +0.34% to finish at $65.80. Today, we`ll see February building permits and housing starts, along with the February CPI and initial jobless claims for the week behind. Earnings today come courtesy of investment house Bear Stearns. Overseas in Asia, the Nikkei lost -0.7% to reach 16,198.28 at the mid-day break in Tokyo -- the broader Topix lost -0.8%. Back in the U.S., in extended hours trading, the NASDAQ 100 Afterhours Indicator rose +0.1 (+0.01%) to close at 1,694.56.