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Factors that lead to higher market were strong data, a new Federal Reserve Beige Book showing a healthy economy and solid earnings from Boeing Co., Amazon.com Inc. and PepsiCo Inc. The Dow Jones Industrial Average putting in its highest close in more than 6 years amid encouraging signs of economic growth.

Today, the Dow closed up 71.24 or 0.6% to 11,354.49, and ended the session at a new high for this year, marking its highest level since Jan. 19, 2000. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 closed up 3.67 or 0.3% to 1,305.41, and the Nasdaq composite index closed up 3.33 to 2,333.63.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers nine to seven on volume of 1.76 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by a narrow margin as 2.12 billion shares traded hands.

Today’s gains were due largely to the positive earnings and all indicators are pointing to strong economic growth. Investors looked at strong existing home sales and durable goods reports as evidence that the economy remains in robust health. Despite the positive tone, inflation concerns could come back into focus tomorrow, when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to testify before Congress on the economic outlook.

In data news, new-home sales increased by 13.8% in March and cast some doubt on talk of a slowdown in the housing market. Orders for new U.S. made durable goods increased 6.1% in March. This is the largest increase since May 2005 and exceeded the 2.1% gain expected by economists. The Fed’s Beige Book on current economic conditions underlined the current strength of the U.S. economy. While, many expect the economy to slow later this year, the message from a Fed survey of economic conditions through mid-April is that there is inherent strength.

The Dow march North was led by general Motors that closed up $1.74 or8.1% to $23.15. Merrill Lynch upgraded GM to “neutral” from “sell” on optimism about its restructuring plan, saying that there are early signs that a turnaround is brewing. They believes that the automaker may leverage its overfunded U.S. pension plan to fund its North America restructuring.

Shares of PepsiCo closed up $0.36 to $57.86, after the food and beverage company posted earnings and revenue ahead of consensus estimates. Colgate-Palmolive Co. shares surged to their best numbers since July 2004 after it posted first-quarter net income that easily surpassed Wall Street’s target, helped by solid sales and volume gains, increased selling prices and a shift to higher-margin products. The stock closed up 2.8% at $58.95.

Amazon.com shares closed up $0.24 cents to $35.79. The online retailer’s sales climbed 20% to $2.28 billion, ahead of analysts’ expectations. However, its quarterly profit tumbled 35%, hurt by the cost of employee stock options and higher operating expenses. Additionally, it also issued a second-quarter sales forecast that sets the midpoint above analysts’ estimates.

Boeing reported quarterly earnings Wednesday morning that rose from a year ago but missed forecasts. Shares of Boeing closed down $0.20 to $84.91, after hitting an all-time high last week. The aerospace giant posted a forecast-beating first-quarter profit, but sales of $14.26 billion came in shy of analysts’ estimates. Its 2006 revenue outlook also was below Wall Street’s view.

Nokia Corp. the biggest cell-phone maker, ended up 1.2% at $22.94. Rival Motorola Inc. gained 0.5% to $22.10. RF Micro shares shot up to their best levels in more than two years, up more nearly 13.7% at $9.41. The maker of integrated circuits for wireless devices, posted solid quarterly results, which it attributed in part to strong demand from the world’s leading mobile-handset manufacturers.

U.S. light crude oil for June delivery fell 95 cents to settle at $71.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures got lower after a U.S. government report showed that gasoline supplies fell for an eighth week, but the fuel’s import level was among the highest on record and refinery activity climbed 2%.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter