Regis Philbin
May 30th, 2007, 06:39 PM
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070530/wall_street.html?.v=61
Stocks Jump, S&P 500 Hits Record Close
Wednesday May 30, 7:02 pm ET
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer
Wall Street Advances As Fed Minutes Fail to Surprise, S&P 500 Index Closes at Record High
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street shot higher Wednesday, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its first record close in more than seven years, as investors grew more confident that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates in the second half of 2007. The Dow Jones industrials also reached a new high close.
The S&P 500, considered by traders as the best barometer of U.S. stocks, surpassed the record of 1,527.46, set March 24, 2000, at the peak of the dot-com boom, closing at 1,530.23, up 12.12, or 0.80 percent.
The index of 500 of the nation's biggest companies was powered by investors' relief over the minutes from the Fed's May 9 meeting of its Open Market Committee. The central bankers called inflation "uncomfortably high," a stance that made it less likely that the Fed would act to cut interest rates.
However, analysts said the Fed indicated in the minutes that the drag on the economy from the housing slump may be more severe than first thought -- and that raised the possibility that the Fed hasn't ruled out lowering rates. The Fed has left rates unchanged at 5.25 percent for seven straight meetings.
Stocks Jump, S&P 500 Hits Record Close
Wednesday May 30, 7:02 pm ET
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer
Wall Street Advances As Fed Minutes Fail to Surprise, S&P 500 Index Closes at Record High
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street shot higher Wednesday, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its first record close in more than seven years, as investors grew more confident that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates in the second half of 2007. The Dow Jones industrials also reached a new high close.
The S&P 500, considered by traders as the best barometer of U.S. stocks, surpassed the record of 1,527.46, set March 24, 2000, at the peak of the dot-com boom, closing at 1,530.23, up 12.12, or 0.80 percent.
The index of 500 of the nation's biggest companies was powered by investors' relief over the minutes from the Fed's May 9 meeting of its Open Market Committee. The central bankers called inflation "uncomfortably high," a stance that made it less likely that the Fed would act to cut interest rates.
However, analysts said the Fed indicated in the minutes that the drag on the economy from the housing slump may be more severe than first thought -- and that raised the possibility that the Fed hasn't ruled out lowering rates. The Fed has left rates unchanged at 5.25 percent for seven straight meetings.