MORNING BUSINESS MINUTE, WEDS., APR. 19, 2006

The Fed released minutes of its March 28th Open Market Committee meeting, in which policymakers said they believe we`ve approached the end of interest rate hikes. On the flip side, we saw the price of oil close at a record $71.35 on Nymex. As a result, the Dow rose +194.99 (+1.76%) to close at 11,268.77. The NASDAQ rose +44.98 (+1.95%) to close at 2,356.14 and the S&P 500 gained +22.32 (+1.74) to finish at 1,307.65. Local stocks posted gains across the board. Wal-Mart (WMT) added +1.27% to close at $46.40. AllTel (AT) gained +0.31% to close at $65.15. Tyson Foods (TSN) added +1.29% to close at $13.34. JB Hunt (JBHT) rose +0.70% to close at $23.04 and Acxiom (ACXM) rose +1.11% to finish at $26.35. Today, we`ll see consumer prices for March, and crude oil inventories for the week behind. Earnings really heat up today with Apple Computer, Pfizer, Intel and Coca-Cola -- just to name a few -- reporting earnings -- kind of the day of the blue chips. Also out today, Abbott Labs, eBay, General Dynamics, Honeywell and Kraft Foods. Overseas in Asia, the Nikkei rose +193.3 (+1.1%) to reach 17,426.16 at the mid-day break in Tokyo. The broader Topix gained +19.41 (+1.1%) to reach 1,761.16. Back in the U.S., in extended hours trading, the NASDAQ 100 Afterhours Indicator rose +6.09 (+0.35%) to close the night at 1,732.73.