Thursday

Stocks extended their multiyear highs today as the market clung to a flow of encouraging corporate earnings and optimism generated by the Federal Reserve's plans to keep interest rates low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose .6% to its highest close since May of 2008. Leading the blue-chip measure, Boeing climbed 3.2%. Procter & Gamble was also strong, rising .8% after its first-quarter earnings beat analysts' estimates. The market largely overlooked a lukewarm round of economic data. U.S. pending home sales climbed more than expected last month, but gross domestic product showed a significant slowing from the previous quarter. DJIA +72.35 Nasdaq +2.65 S&P 500 +4.82.

Tuesday

Stocks climbed to fresh multiyear highs, boosted by consumer optimism and strong earnings from industrial heavyweights. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared .9% to a fresh three-year high. The S&P 500 also gained .9%, and the Nasdaq Composite wasn't far behind, ending up .8%. The broad advances put the S&P 500 at its highest point since June 2008, while the Nasdaq ended just a few points off of a 10-year high. The gains came amid an uptick in U.S. consumer sentiment and a wave of strong earnings numbers from 3M, Cummins and Ford Motor. DJIA +115.49 Nasdaq +21.66 S&P 500 +11.99.

Monday

Blue-chip stocks slipped today as investors grew concerned about the impact of rising input costs, although strong reports in the technology sector limited the drop. The slight declines came as the latest round of U.S. corporate earnings drew attention to the increasing costs companies are battling. Meanwhile, investors were also looking to the Federal Reserve's decision on monetary policy following a two-day meeting that begins tomorrow. In the statement, the Federal Reserve officials are expected to signal that in June they plan to end their controversial strategy of buying $600 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds to spur the economy. DJIA -26.11 Nasdaq +5.72 S&P 500 -2.13.

Wednesday

Strong earnings from the technology sector and a bigger-than-expected rise in existing home sales sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a nearly three-year high today. The Dow rose 1.52% to its highest closing level since June 5, 2008. Intel led the Dow with a jump of 7.8% after the chip maker posted first-quarter earnings and revenue above analysts' expectations along with a second-quarter revenue outlook that topped Wall Street estimates. U.S. economic data also provided a lift after the National Association of Realtors said existing-home sales increased 3.7% in March. DJIA +186.79 Nasdaq +57.54 S&P 500 +17.74.

Tuesday

Stocks gained back some of yesterday's losses, as positive earnings news helped boost the market. The modest gains came one day after the Dow fell 140 points on credit-ratings firm Standard & Poor's decision to lower its outlook on the U.S. government's triple-A credit rating. Traders and investors said that many of those worries were being shrugged off a day later. Johnson & Johnson led the Dow higher, gaining, 3.7%, after the blue-chip health care and consumer products company beat first-quarter earnings expectations and raised its full-year earnings outlook. Energy stocks were also strong as oil jumped to over $108 a barrel. Exxon Mobil gained .8%, while Chevron added .9%. DJIA +65.16 Nasdaq +9.59 S&P 500 +7.48.

Monday

Stocks suffered substantial losses today after Standard & Poor's cut its outlook on the U.S. government. The ratings firm cut its outlook on U.S. government debt from "stable" to "negative" and warned that the U.S. fiscal profile may become "meaningfully weaker" than that of other triple-A-rated countries if policy makers can't tame the budget deficit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%, led by Bank of America and Caterpillar, which each fell 3.1%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 1.1% as well, with energy and industrials taking the hardest hit. At session lows, both measures staged their biggest drop in a month. DJIA -140.24 Nasdaq -29.27 S&P 500 -14.54.

Tuesday

Major U.S. stock indexes slid almost 1% today, and commodities plummeted amid a rising group of analysts warning that high oil prices are threatening global growth. Energy stocks fell most sharply as crude oil tumbled 3.5%. Worries about oil gained new prominence today when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut its 2011 oil-demand forecast. The fear is a pullback in oil demand may be a symptom of oil prices' pressure on the broader economy. DJIA -117.53 Nasdaq -26.72 S&P 500 -10.30.

Wednesday

The financial sector led U.S. stocks higher on capital-raising plans from several European banks, but earnings from Monsanto limited the climb. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose .3% to its highest close since June of 2008. Leading the Dow's advance, Cisco Systems jumped 4.9%. Cisco Chief Executive, John Chambers, suggested that changes to the technology company's operations, and possibly cost cuts, would be coming. Financial components were also strong following a rally in European financial stocks after European banks announced plans to raise capital. DJIA +32.85 Nasdaq +8.63 S&P 500 +2.91.

Tuesday

Major indexes closed nearly flat today in a light-volume trading session. Minutes of the most recent meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on March 15 showed that U.S. central bankers largely stood pat on the outlook for the economy and interest rates. Apple fell .7% after Nasdaq OMX Group, the New York exchange operator, said it would rebalance its Nasdaq-100 stock-market index, effective at the start of trade on May 2. The rebalancing will reduce the technology company's weighting in the index. DJIA -6.13 Nasdaq +2.00 S&P 500 -.24.