Market Overview
<http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=%5eIXIC&t=1d&c=> NASDAQ Composite Index (^IXIC) <http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=%5eDJI&t=1d&c=> Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (^DJI) Symbol Last Change Dow <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5EDJI> 13,861.73 Up283.86 (2.09%) Nasdaq <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5EIXIC> 2,701.73 Up49.94 (1.88%) S <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5EGSPC> &P 500 1,547.70 Up28.94 (1.91%) 10-Yr <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5ETNX> Bond 5.12% Up0.04 NYSE <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5ETV.N> Volume 3,508,328,000 Nasdaq <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5ETV.O> Volume 2,274,734,000 Indices: US <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/finhome/usindices/*http:/finance.yahoo.com/i ndices?e=dow_jones> - World <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/finhome/worldindices/*http:/finance.yahoo.co m/intlindices?e=americas> | Most <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/finhome/mostactives/*http:/finance.yahoo.com /actives?e=o> Actives Advances & Declines NYSE NASDAQ Advances 2,371 (71%) 2,186 (68%) Declines 880 (26%) 877 (27%) Unchanged 108 (3%) 132 (4%) Up Vol* 3,031 (86%) 1,915 (84%) Down Vol* 452 (13%) 318 (14%) Unch. Vol* 26 (1%) 41 (2%) New Hi's 323 254 New Lo's 86 76 *in millions Market Update _____ 4:20 pm : The Dow logged its first gain of more than 200-points since July 19, 2006 and its best one-day performance since March 2003 in route to its latest record finish. The S&P 500 also closed at a new all-time high while the Nasdaq hit its best levels in 6 1/2 years. Another day of M&A, which included a blockbuster deal, kicked things off on a positive note as stocks rallied right out of the gate. A better than feared batch of monthly retail sales results was also an influential catalyst, sparking a relief rally that forced shorts sellers to run for cover. Of the 147 S&P industry groups, 138 posted gains. Aluminum (+6.7%) was the day's biggest winner after Rio Tinto's (RTP 318.04 -6.38) white-knight bid for Alcan (AL 98.34 8.74) increased the likelihood that Alcoa (AA 45.24 +2.81) will also garner a hefty takeover premium should it fail to outbid Rio Tinto. The proposed $38.1 bln deal represents a 33% premium to Alcoa's hostile bid of $76 per share. Continued takeover activity in Materials, which supports our Overweight rating on the space, left it as the day's best performing sector (+2.7%) for a second straight day. Not only did all 10 sectors finish to the upside, but the more heavily-weighted areas in the S&P 500 were also among today's biggest winners. The Financial sector (+2.2%) was the most influential gainer. The convincing return of its leadership removed one of the market's only hurdles up to this point and helped clear the way for the S&P 500 to reach new heights. With so many on Wall Street also concerned of late about the health of the consumer, last month's same-store sales results checking in better than feared also
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