MORNING BUSINESS MINUTE, FRI. MAR. 17, 2006
By:
Updated: April 17, 2007
We had strong numbers from the housing market, along with good news on the inflation front. Consumer prices went up more slowly than expected, but still went up. Both of those measures of the economy did well, but not so well as to frighten investors.
As a result we saw the Dow added +43.47 (+0.39%) to close at 11,253.24. The NASDAQ lost -12.28 (-0.53%) to close at 2,299.56 and the S&P 500 added +2.31 (+0.18%) to finish at 1,305.33.
Stocks of local interest split the session. Tyson Foods (TSN) added +1.70% to finish at $13.16. JB Hunt (JBHT) lost -2.97% to close at $22.85. Acxiom (ACXM) added +0.23% to finish at $26.27. Wal-Mart (WMT) added +2.29% to finish at $46.36 and Alltel (AT) lost -0.08% to close at $65.75.
Today, we`ll see Capacity Utilization and Industrial Production for February, and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for March. We don`t have much in terms of earnings today to follow.
Overseas in Asia last night, the Nikkei climbed +0.3% to reach 16,145.00 at the mid-day break in Tokyo. The broader Topix also added +0.3%. Back in the U.S., in extended hours trading, the NASDAQ 100 Afterhours Indicator rose +0.59 (+0.04%) to close the night at 1,679.64.
