A Positive Durable Goods Report & Numerous Reports of Strong Earnings Contributed to All 3 Majors Gaining Today

Strong earnings reports from a broad range of companies, coupled with a positive Durable Goods Orders report from the Commerce Department, contributed to all 3 majors gaining ground today. An estimated 2.07 billion shares were traded on The Big Board.

Today's shining stars on The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were Caterpillar and Honeywell.

Shares of Caterpillar gained $3.10 to close @ $65.17 per share. Caterpillar is the global #1 producer of those big earth-moving machines.

Shares of Honeywell gained $1.35 to close @ $37.41 per share. Honeywell is the global #1 manufacturer of aviation cockpit controls.

The worst performance on The DJIA came from General Motors; shares of GM lost $0.80 (3.4%) in regular trading to close @ $23.05 per share; the stock lost another $0.15 in after-hours trading this evening. GM reported a loss of $4.78 billion for Q4 2005.

The fast-growing, McDonald's-owned restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill debut on The New York Stock Exchange® today in an IPO of $22 per share. Chipotle Mexican Grill is trading on The New York Stock Exchange® under the stock symbol "CMG."

The Chipotle Mexican Grill had 14 Denver-area locations in 1998. There are now 480 Chipotle restaurant locations across the country, and there are plans for 90 more restaurants this year (A wise investment of all that IPO cash, eh?)

Shares of Chipotle gained $22.00 (100%) in regular trading today to close @ $44.00 per share; the stock gained another $0.84 in after-hours trading this evening.

Shares of McDonald's fell by $0.22 to close @ $34.94 per share.

Shares of Cephalon gained $5.05 (7.56%) to close @ $71.88 per share in regular trading; the stock lost $0.13 in after-hours action.
Shares of Lockheed added $1.98 to close @ $66.99 per share in regular trading; the stock added another $0.18 in after-hours trading. Lockheed is the global #1 defense company.

Shares of Microsoft gained $0.10 to close @ $26.50 in regular trading; the stock gained another $0.60 in after-hours action.

Shares of AT&T gained $0.30 to close @ $25.51 per share.

Shares of Verizon gained $0.30 as well to close @ $31.68 per share.

Shares of Sony gained $5.28 (12.20%) in regular trading to close @ $48.57 per share, then gained another $1.43 in after-hours trading this evening.

Disappointing sales of Aranesp®, a drug that treats chemotherapy-induced anemia, contributed to shares of Amgen losing $3.57 (4.73%) to close @ $71.90 per share in regular trading; the stock recovered $0.10 in after-hours trading.

Shares of Juniper fell by $4.46 to close @ $17.06 per share in regular trading; the stock recovered $0.06 in after-hours action.

Shares of Novellus Systems gained $1.96 in regular trading to close @ $29.88 per share; the stock added an additional $0.38 in after-hours action this evening.

Shares of the telephone-network equipment maker Tellabs gained $2.06 (20%) to close @ $12.57 per share in regular trading; the stock gained another $0.04 in after-hours trading.

Shares of Google gained $1.26 to close @ $434.26 in regular trading, then gained an additional $4.63 in after-hours action.

The NASDAQ Stock Market® CEO Robert Greifeld said that the company won't pursue the acquisition of The London Stock Exchange (LSE) and will instead focus the company's energies on merging The NASDAQ with the INET trading system. The company also has a 4 year plan to reduce its debt.

Shares of The NASDAQ Stock Market® gained $4.43 in regular trading today to close @ $43.20 per share; the stock gained another $0.29 in after-hours trading.

First Data has announced plans to spin-off Western Union. As a standalone company, Western Union would have revenue of about $4 billion per year.

Shares of First Data climbed $2.30 to close @ $45.30 per share in regular trading; the stock lost $0.08 in after-hours trading.

Shares of Citigroup gained $0.78 to close @ $47.01 per share.

Shares of JP Morgan Chase rose by $1.11 to close @ $39.59 per share; the stock gained another $0.03 in after-hours trading.

Today's Numbers:

DJIA: Closed Up @ 10,809.47 (+99.73)

NASDAQ: Closed Up @ 2,283.00 (+22.35)

S&P 500: Closed Up @ 1,273.83 (+9.15)

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NYMEX Crude Oil Future is currently $66.65/barrel

New York Spot Gold closed Down @ $559.70/ounce

Currently, The U.S. Dollar buys 0.8189 Euros
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The Prime Rate is currently 7.25%

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