Associated Press
Wednesday, November 15, 2006; D05

NEW YORK, Nov. 14 -- Wall Street barreled yet higher Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average surging further into record territory after a Federal Reserve official indicated the Fed would maintain its policy of stable interest rates.

The Dow rose 86.13, or 0.71 percent, to close at 12,218.01, above the previous record close of 12,176.54 set Nov. 8. The blue chips also reached a new trading high of 12,228.01. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 8.80, or 0.64 percent, to 1393.22. It hit a trading high of 1394.49, the first time the S&P 500 surpassed 1394 since November 2000. The Nasdaq composite index rose 24.28, or 1.01 percent, to 2430.66.

Investors who were heartened by an earlier report of slowing producer prices began buying in earnest after Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President William Poole described the Fed's interest rate policy as "about right."

Poole, a voting member on the Fed's policymaking Open Market Committee, had reassuring words for a market that has been counting on a steady rate policy for the near future.

Earlier, the Labor Department said inflation at the wholesale level as measured by the producer price index fell 1.6 percent last month following a 1.3 percent slide in September.

Plunging energy prices were behind the declines, which gave Wall Street some relief from concern that rising inflation might prompt the Fed to raise rates after three straight meetings where they were left unchanged.

Home Depot gained $1.56, to close at $37.96, rebounding after it reported a 3.1 percent drop in third-quarter profit and a sharp decline in sales at stores open at least a year.

Wal-Mart Stores rose $1.34, to $47.66, after reporting that third-quarter profit rose 11.5 percent despite weak growth in U.S. sales.

Target rose $1.40, to $59.16, after beating analysts' projections with an 11 percent rise in sales.

D.R. Horton climbed $2.12, to $24.50, after the homebuilder's third-quarter results surpassed analysts' expectations.

Intel rose 88 cents, to $21.88, after the early rollout of its quad-core processors helped boost the technology sector.