Dow Down, S&P and NASDAQ Up, with Oil Closing Above $61 Per Barrel

Merck lost 2.5% today on the news of a mistrial in the company's latest court case related to the painkiller Vioxx; investors had expected Merck to win it's latest court battle.

Apple Computer did well today on news that it will soon come out with a new computer that will have an Intel processor at it's heart; the news from Apple helped the NASDAQ to close up today.

Many Blue Chip stocks closed down today as investors brace themselves for the expected 25 basis point increase to The Fed Funds Rate that is almost certain to happen tomorrow.

Gold's charm may be waning: gold peaked @ around $540 per ounce today, but gold's price ended up falling as the day progressed; right now the price for an ounce of gold is @ $522.30.

The folks @ OPEC report that they are happy with the way things are going with oil; oil ended up closing above the $61 mark for a barrel of the light and sweet stuff. Looks like the only way the price of oil is going to get tamed is by a streak of warm weather in the US.

Today's Numbers:

DJIA: Closed Down @ 10,767.77 (-10.81)

NASDAQ: Closed Up @ 2,260.95 (+4.22)

S&P 500: Closed Up @ 1,260.43 (+1.06)

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- >  SITEMAP  <