MORNING BUSINESS MINUTE, WEDS., APR. 26, 2006

We saw strong data on home sales and consumer confidence indicators. That made some investors worry we have too strong an economy, something that could give the Fed a reason to change its mind and hike interest rates again. Oil prices actually fell $0.45 cents a barrel to settle at $72.88 on Nymex. The Dow lost -53.07 (-0.47%) to close at 11,283.25. The NASDAQ lost -3.08 (-0.13%) to close at 2,330.30. The S&P 500 lost -6.37 (-0.49%) to close at 1,301.74. Local stocks posted mostly positive results. Wal-Mart (WMT) gained +0.20% to close at $45.63. AllTel (AT) lost -0.47% to close at $63.40. Tyson Foods (TSN) ended flat at $13.72. JB Hunt (JBHT) added +1.33% to close at $24.30 and Acxiom (ACXM) added +0.19% to close at $26.39. In terms of economic figures, we`ll see March durable goods orders, March new home sales and the Fed`s Beige Book today. Earnings include numbers from Boeing, Weyerhauser and Colgate-Palmolive. Overseas in Asia last night, the Nikkei gained +28.79 (+0.2%) to reach 16,999.08 at the mid-day break in Tokyo. The broader Topix lost -1.1 (-0.1%) to reach 1,718.63. Back in the U.S, in extended hours trading, the NASDAQ 100 Afterhours Indicator rose +0.5 (+0.03%) to close the night at 1,701.97.