The day's gains were broad, with nine of the S&P 500's 10 sectors ending higher. Among the top gainers were the consumer staples sector index, up 1 percent, and the financial sector, also up 1%.

Hedge funds gained 5.4 percent on average through May 10, compared with a 15.4 percent rise for the S&P 500 (SPX) and a 14.8 percent increase for the typical mutual fund, a team of Goldman Sachs analysts led by Amanda Sneider and David Kostin wrote ...

If you're not already long, go long on the S&P 500 and then sell the December 175 calls for about $3.65 per share (as of the close on May 21, and with 100 shares in each contract, about $3,650 per contract).

I say "coincided," because the market's mood, visible via Elliott wave patterns, was suggesting a nearby top even before Mr. Bernanke's comments.

Returning to the S&P 500 (SPX), whose sole carrier is Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV), probably would draw new investors and mark a milestone in Delta's recovery since its removal in 2005 about a month before filing for bankruptcy.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) executives said they believe the company has �met every criteria� for re-inclusion in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

The June E-mini S&P 500 continued its plunge overnight, fueled by negative comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and a sharp break in Japanese stock markets on weaker-than-expected Chinese data.

Another illustrative example is the S&P MidCap index which essentially takes the S&P 500 index and �tosses out� the biggest 100 companies so as to focus solely on the 400 smaller �up-and-comers� (which in the right environment can outperform their ...

That's because over the past year the U.S. stock market - as measured by the S&P 500 - has climbed the metaphoric �Wall of Worry� and advanced a whopping 31.5 percent over the past year and 17.8 percent so far in 2013.

Moreover, �should the S&P 500 'melt-up' above channel resistance, a longer-term measured move projects up to 1,775,� the analyst says.