Stocks roar ahead on steady rates from the FED

Investors bought on the rumor & bought even more on the news. Dow was up an impressive 331, advancers ahead of decliners almost 3-1 (not so impressive) & NAZ rose 64. NYSE volume was subdued at 1.4B, mediocre for what was an impressive rally.

FED did not change interest rates plus their kind words afterwards encouraged investors. News on the oil front was also good as oil traded near its low for the day, not to mention a 3 month low:

CLU08.NYM

Crude Oil Sep 08

118.65

2.76 (2.27%)

Oil stocks sold off, Chevron (CVX) dropped 31¢ but Exxon Mobil (XOM) rose 1¾ (possibly helped by my comments yesterday). The Alerian MLP index dropped 4 to the 258s, setting a new 52 week low. Financials, led by banks, found plenty of buyers, as did many stocks. However junk bond funds sold off slightly in sympathy with lower prices for the Treasury bond, even though they have little in common. Maybe they wanted to maintain that 800 basis point spread.

Cisco (CSCO) reported earnings after hours beating estimates by a penny. The stock rose 66¢ during the day & is adding another almost $1 after hours. NAZ will be starting tomorrow's trading with following winds.

Asian markets are expected to follow thru with strong gains. But tomorrow, in the US, will be a new day day with more news stories as Cisco's news fades in influence.