Replies to post #11067 on Tasty Booshers

[lonestar1a1]

Well, not a lot of time to determine since all this transpired late in the day. Found this which I thought wrapped it up pretty well:

Reuters
Stocks Fly on Fed and Oil, Elan Jumps
Tuesday April 12, 6:22 pm ET
By Megan Davies


NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied sharply on Tuesday, after minutes from the Federal Reserve alleviated worries about aggressive interest-rate hikes, while crude oil tumbled to below $52 a barrel.

The relief over the Fed's view lifted rate-sensitive bank stocks like Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - News) , a Dow component, up 1.8 percent at $46.45, while the drop in oil prices boosted industrial stocks like Caterpillar Inc.(NYSE:CAT - News), up 1.4 percent at $91.39.

Meanwhile, shares of companies facing asbestos liability lawsuits soared after bipartisan Senate support appeared likely for planned legislation to create a $140 billion U.S. fund to compensate victims. W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA - News) surged 32 percent, or $2.59, to $10.63, while USG Corp.(NYSE:USG - News) jumped 24.5 percent, or $8.63, to $43.90.

The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI - News) was up 59.41 points, or 0.57 percent, to finish at 10,507.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (CBOE:^SPX - News) was up 6.55 points, or 0.55 percent, to end at 1,187.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index (NasdaqSC:^IXIC - News) was up 13.28 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,005.40.

"There was nothing in the minutes that suggested that there was any more concern about inflation than had already been reflected in the statement they released after the meeting," said Alfred Kugel, chief investment strategist at Stein Roe Investment Counsel, an affiliate of Atlantic Trust.

"So people were relieved. Then you put on top of that the fact that oil went down pretty sharply, and all of a sudden, you have the ingredients for an up day."

RECIPE FOR A RALLY

Stocks reversed course and rebounded from early lows after the Federal Open Market Committee's minutes were released.

Investors cited reassurance that the Fed -- which has raised interest rates seven times since June -- would continue to increase the cost of borrowing gradually.

The minutes from the Fed's March 22 rate-setting meeting stated an opinion that an accelerated pace of monetary policy tightening "did not appear necessary at this time" -- similar to the statement released immediately after the Fed's meeting.

High interest rates dampen equities as they increase borrowing costs for companies and constrain consumer spending. So hints of aggressive tightening generally hit stock prices.

The Dow swung 168.85 points from its low point to its high for the session. Earlier in the day, the Dow came close to carving out a new low for 2005, falling to 10,360.92. The Nasdaq swung 37.23 points from its lowest to highest point during the session.

Wall Street got another dose of good news from the oil market. U.S. light crude (CLc1) futures for May delivery slid $1.85 to settle at $51.86, continuing to retreat from their recent record high at $58.28. Falling oil prices generally boost stocks, as they ease worries about clipped corporate earnings and weaker consumer spending.

U.S. Treasury debt prices swung higher, sending benchmark yields to a one-month low and reflecting relief in the bond market that the Fed intended to stick with gradual rate increases. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note (US10YT=RR) at one point touched 4.36 percent, its lowest since early March.

Financial services shares rose, driving the Philadelphia KBW Bank Index (AMEX:^BKX - News) up 1.17 percent.

Early in the regular session, stocks were dampened by the U.S. trade gap for February widening to a record $61.0 billion, according to a government report. That was greater than the $59 billion that economists polled by Reuters expected.

Among individual stocks, auto-related companies continued to fall, in the aftermath of Ford Motor Co.'s (NYSE:F - News) profit warning last Friday, and General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - News) warning last month.

Auto-part makers fell. Visteon Corp. (NYSE:VC - News), which gets about 70 percent of its revenue from Ford, fell 13 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $5.10. Ford fell 3.6 percent, or 38 cents, to $10.06, while GM slipped 25 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $29.

Shares of eBay Inc.(NasdaqNM:EBAY - News) fell 31 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $33.66, amid speculation that the company's earnings and outlook coming up on April 20 may disappoint.

Overall, trading was moderate, with 1.58 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange, above the 1.46 billion daily average for last year. About 1.93 billion shares were traded on Nasdaq, above the 1.81 billion daily average last year. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by about 5 to 3 and by about 8 to 7 on Nasdaq.

ELAN SOARS AFTER THE BELL

After the closing bell, Elan Corp. (NYSE:ELN - News) shot up almost 19 percent to $4.48 on the Inet electronic brokerage network. Elan, an Irish drug maker, and Biogen Idec (NasdaqNM:BIIB - News), a U.S. biotech company, reported results from a trial of their suspended multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, showing that it slows disability in relapsed MS patients. Biogen nudged up 1 percent to $37.20.

Also after the bell, ImClone Systems Inc. (NasdaqNM:IMCL - News) fell 10 percent to $31.76 after it said it will seek U.S. approval for its colon cancer drug Erbitux by the end of this year, pushing back its previous timeline. (Additional reporting by Anna Driver)