Fed Holds Interest Rates Steady, Markets Close Higher

Standard & Poor's downgraded Spain's credit rating but the markets closed higher with the Dow rising 53 points to 11,045 after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at current record lows. Nasdaq added a fraction to 2471.

On the upside

First quarter earnings for Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) surged to beat analyst expectations by a wide margin as revenue soared.

Silicon Image (Nasdaq: SIMG) narrowed first quarter losses.

First quarter earnings for Olin (NYSE: OLN) plunged as sales dropped.

On the downside

JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU) blamed higher fuel expenses and inclement weather for reporting an unexpected loss for the first quarter.

PPL (NYSE: PPL) announced plans to pay $7 billion to acquire E.ON's U. S. business.

Rumors circulated yesterday that China Infrastructure Investment (Nasdaq: CIIC) may be acquired.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a point to 722.