The Dow rose 115 points or 0.9% while the S&P added 0.9% to 1347 and the Nasdaq gained 0.8%.

After several false starts, the broad market S&P 500 has finally closed above its pre-Lehman mark of 1343. Two years and seven months after the fall of Lehman Bros sparked what we call the GFC, that lost ground has been recovered. Of course the world suffered from a credit crisis before Lehman went down, so we're still a long way from the all time high of 1565 – another 16% rally away.

There was not a lot of fanfare given volumes were tepid last night, maintaining a now entrenched trend. The reconquering of pre-GFC levels has not been accompanied by retail investor support. There would also have been constraint last night in particular ahead of tonight's Fed monetary policy statement and press conference. But in a thin market it was all about solid earnings results.

Among the blue chips, the results were mostly positive. They included Post-it note maker 3M (Dow) (+2%), auto-maker Ford (Dow) (+1%), logistics bellwether United Parcel Service (+1%), money transfer giant Western Union (+1%), and leading Swiss bank UBS (+6%). A return to strong investor inflows was the feature of the UBS result.

On the flipside, fizzy drink purveyor Coca-Cola (Dow) lost 1% after missing due to lost sales in Japan, while US Steel (Dow) lost 4% after posting a worse loss than expected. US Steel's result was particularly disappointing given it owns its own raw material sources. There has nevertheless been a common theme among most results to date of fighting higher costs. The offset, in the case of multi-nationals, has been increased sales offshore (to you know where).

Economic data releases were mixed last night. The Conference Board monthly consumer confidence index recovered to 65.4 from 63.8 in March but that's still below the February reading of 72.0. Higher gasoline prices are being blamed. The Richmond Fed manufacturing index dropped to 10 from 20 in March, which was down from 27 in February. Like its counterpart the Philly index, the result shows activity still expanding but at a slower pace.

In the market no one likes to talk about, the Case-Shiller house price index for February fell 1.1% to be down 3.3% since the previous February. That's the seventh straight monthly drop. The Case-Shiller index is now sitting just above its April 2009 measure, meaning another fall would imply a double-dip of the post-GFC housing recession.

The US dollar index was weaker last night ahead of tonight's Fed decision, falling 0.3% to 73.78. The Aussie was 0.6% stronger at US$1.0785 despite movements in commodity prices last night. Indeed, it is a rare session these days when stock indices rise but commodity prices fall, given the weight of energy and material sectors.

Oil was only slightly lower last night on a West Texas basis at US$112.21/bbl while Brent gained US48c to US$124.14/bbl. Base metals were all weaker in London, having been closed since Thursday night, with copper down 1% and zinc down 3%.

Gold was only a couple of bucks lower at US$1504.60/oz but silver posted the standout move of the session. I noted yesterday that silver had made a push in its parabolic rise to just under US$50 before the profit-takers finally moved in, and last night that profit-taking wave reared up to force a 3% drop to US$45.42/oz. So we're already almost 10% off the intraday high, and the pundits are calling for a drop to US$40 before the dust settles.

There may be inflation fears in the US, and the stock market may be regaining past highs, but you wouldn't know it in the US bond market. Last night's auction of two-year notes settled at a lower yield than the last auction, and the benchmark ten-year yield has now fallen back to multi-month lows at 3.32%. The short end remains popular and mutual funds remain heavy buyers. Cash (and fixed interest) is king.

The SPI was closed for Anzac Day but this morning the SPI Overnight closed up 21 points. Since the ASX was last open on Thursday, the Dow has risen by a net 141 points in three sessions.

It's first quarter CPI day in Australia today, and we'll see quarterly production reports from Aston Resources ((AZT)), Macarthur Coal ((MCC)), and ROC Oil ((ROC)).

Tonight will see the first estimate of the UK's first quarter GDP result, while US durable goods will accompany the Fed decision and press conference. US earnings highlights will include Boeing (Dow), BP, ConocoPhillips, Credit Suisse, eBay, Starbucks and Volkswagen.

After the bell last night Amazon posted a beat on the revenue line and a big, big miss on the earnings line. This sent Wall Street into a frenzy as traders desperately tried to assess the anomaly which was finally put down to increased capex rather than increased costs. The stock was up, down, up, down in the after-market and is currently down 2%.

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