Don't worry, be happy:
U.S. stocks show little reaction to Fed's Beige Book
MarketWatch Pulse News Bullet - April 16, 2008 2:13PM EDTNEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks showed little immediate reaction to the afternoon release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book of economic conditions, which found the economy has weakened further since mid-March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 156 points at 12,520, compared with 12,529 ahead of the release. The S&P 500 index was up 18 points at 1,353, compared with 1,353 before the report. The Nasdaq Composite gained 47 points to 2,333, unchanged from its pre-report level. According to the Fed's most up-to-date report, Consumer spending has fizzled out, labor market conditions are worsening, and manufacturing activity is treading water. The market, however, continued to remain supported by better-than-expected quarterly results and forecasts from technology bellwether Intel Corp. and financial giant JP Morgan Chase . |
