TODAY'S OPEN: FLAT

Afternoon Rally Curbs Earlier Losses
PICTURED BELOW: The Oil Services Index ($OSX +0.81%) closed today's session above its December 2006 peak. Crude oil prices topped $63 per barrel for the first time this year. The market is factoring in potential supply disruptions as the U.N. tightens sanctions against Iran.
It was very encouraging to see the major averages rally back from earlier losses to close in the upper half of their respective intra-day trading ranges. Decliners slightly outnumbered advancers on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq exchange. The number of new 52-week highs still easily led new 52-week lows on both exchanges. The volume totals on the NYSE and Nasdaq were slightly higher than the prior session.

Yesterday, commodity related issues were some of the best performers as the Oil Services ($OSX +0.81%), Integrated Oil ($XOI +0.78%), and Gold & Silver ($XAU +1.05%) indexes posted gains. The Networking Index ($NWX +1.24%) led the tech sector with a decent gain, and the Internet ($DOT +0.44%) and Software ($GSO +0.10%) indexes finished slightly higher. Meanwhile, the Biotechnology Index ($BTK -0.23%) and Semiconductor Index ($SOX -0.22%) each ended with a slight loss. Weakness in the influential Bank ($BKX -0.30%), Broker/Dealer ($XBD -0.39%), and Retail ($RLX -0.22%) indexes weighed on the major market averages, keeping them from making headway. The Healthcare ($HMO -0.02%) group ended flat.

From 24/7 WallSt.:
Europe Markets 3/27/2007 DaimlerChrysler Up
Media Digest 3/27/2007 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Barron's
Asia Markets 3/27/2007 Hitachi Up

Upgrades / Downgrades / Initiations from MarketWatch

Monday's blog watch from James Altucher, including 15 top stock picks.

7 Stocks You Need to Know for Tuesday
Tuesday's list includes: Lennar, Gamestop and H.B. Fuller.

Stocks in focus for Tuesday from MarketWatch

TraderFeed looks at price-volume correlation and trending.

Wall Street Breakfast & David Fry's Daily Market Outlook for Tuesday
in Seeking Alpha by SA Editors on March 27th: What you need to know before the open today.

S&P, Crude Oil, and Gold & Futures Closing Bell 03-26-2007