Stocks Stay Steady After Rate Hike

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Stocks generally held their own Tuesday following the Federal Reserve’s decision to continue gradually raising interest rates.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 5.25, or just 0.05 percent, to close at 10,256.95. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down 0.99, or 0.1 percent, to close at 1,161.17, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 4.42, or 0.23 percent, to close at 1,933.07.


The fed’s Open Market Committee announced it was raising the federal funds rate by an expected quarter of a percent. It was the eighth increase in the rate, which American commercial banks charge each other on overnight loans, since the fed began its campaign to tighten credit last year.


The move came amid another fall in the price of crude oil, with a barrel of benchmark light crude dropping $1.42 to settle at $49.50. New data also showed factory orders were essentially flat last month, up just 0.1 percent.


Among local stocks, Youbet Inc, rose 5.2 percent to $6.20 after announcing that it had signed an agreement to be the exclusive horse racing content provider to CBS SportsLine.com, an Internet sports media company.


Stamps.com Inc. rose 10.18 percent to $21.21 as investors continued to flock to the stock after the U.S. Postal Service last month restarted the company’s personalized stamp program.


On the down side, Health Net Inc. was off 3.63 percent to $32.94 after reporting a sharp rise in net income and the settlement of a class-action lawsuit brought by physicians. However, commercial enrollment was down 3.3% for the quarter, compared with the fourth quarter of 2004.


Specialty Labs Inc. fell 2.16 percent to $8.14 after announcing chief financial officer Kevin Sayer resigned, effective May 16. The company said its controller will oversee accounting and finance as it searches for a new chief financial officer.

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