Auto parts company O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY- option chain) is one of the newest additions to the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Standard & Poor's announced late Thursday that ORLY will join the venerable index after the close of trading on March 26, where it will replace Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE).

The news caps off a pretty good week for ORLY; on Wednesday, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage of the stock with an "outperform" rating, and the equity tagged a new 52-week high of $36.17 in Thursday's session.

This post was written by Minyanville Executive Editor Keving Depew.

Quick: the next 700 points on the S&P 500; up or down?

I remember when that question required some thought, around 1200 or so. Regardless, it is interesting to me as someone who also manages some longer-term investment accounts (with time frames exceeding 10 years) that people seem to be more concerned with the direction of the next 100 points than the next 700.

Just last week, Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) surprised investors with stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Sales during the period were boosted by healthy demand for the company's recession-friendly canned ham-like product, Spam. Today, it seems that Standard & Poor's is revealing its own soft spot for potted meat, announcing that HRL will join its storied S&P 500 Index as of the close of trading on March 3.

Hormel will replace American Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACAS) in the closely watched broad-market index. The latter stock has given up nearly 96% of its value during the past year, and it's extending those losses today with a plunge of more than 16%.

With the end of the year fast approaching, it's time to start putting together "best of" and "worst of" lists for 2008. This entry is a little bit of both, but it's admittedly heavy on the "worst of." Among the current members of the S&P 500 Index (SPX), just 11 were sitting on a year-to-date gain as of the close of trading on Monday, November 24. Since Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) is unchanged, that means we have a whopping 488 securities sitting on a loss for the year.

Let's start with the bad news first. Among the worst-performing stocks on the SPX, the six top spots are claimed by stocks in the Insurance and Real Estate sectors. General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) has the dubious honor of dropping nearly 98% on the year, and -- not surprisingly -- American International Group (NYSE: AIG) isn't far behind.

• If Lehman (LEH) isn't the second coming of Bear Stearns, won't "sell the rumor, buy the news" come into play?
  
  
Why can't I shake the sense that a serious downside dislocation is lurking in the wings this summer?


Given the massive two-sided directional potential, have you defined your risk (both ways) in kind?


After all, doesn't setting stops remove emotion?


Another day, another dime (10%) for WaMu (WM) the killer whale?


• What does it say that the New York Stock Exchange internals are still flat to the share?
  
  
• The kid' from Oakland - what did you expect?
  
  
How could it possibly take me this long to see Charlie Wilson's War?

R.P.

Stock futures started the day on a positive note, turning sharply higher in reaction to a wider-than-expected decline in August's producer price index (PPI) number. Despite thin volume during the morning hours, the major indices hovered in the black, awaiting the 2:15 interest-rate decision from Ben Bernanke and the Federal Open Market Committee.

Pleasantly surprising even the doves among us, the rate-setting board made an aggressive rate cut of 50 basis points to 4.75%. And ... they were off. Nearly all market sectors closed in positive territory, led by strong gains from the housing and financial-services groups (areas that have been most adversely affected by the recent credit crunch and subprime woes).

By the time the closing bell sounded, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) had gained 336 points - the blue-chip index's biggest single-day jump in almost half a decade. With 29 of its 30 components closing above break-even - Boeing (NYSE: BA) was the lone exception - the Dow settled at 13,739.4, closing above the 13,700 level for the first time since July 25.

Elsewhere, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) tacked on 43 points, or 2.9%, to 1,519.78. Today marked the index's first close above the psychologically significant 1,500 threshold since July 25. And tech stocks weren't left out of the fun ... the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) rallied 70 points, or 2.7%, to 2,651.7, taking out the 2,650 mark for the first time since July 23. All three of the major market averages ended the session at their intraday highs.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The domestic automotive business has been beaten and torn by foreign competition for several years now, forcing many auto-parts producers, such as Tower Automotive Inc. and Delphi Corp. (OTC: DPHIQ) into bankruptcy proceedings.

A growing number of auto-part manufacturers are leaving the U.S. automobile industry altogether, divesting auto-related businesses and diversifying into other, more profitable industries. The Wall Street Journal highlighted the latest companies [subscription required] trying to make the switch to stay alive:

• SPX Corp (NYSE: SPW), a North Carolina auto manufacturer that once earned 90% of its revenue from auto-related businesses, now earns less than 3% from auto-related businesses after multiple divestitures and acquisitions. SPX Corp is now an infrastructure-related products and service manufacturer for the global power market.

• Pittsburgh-based glass and coatings manufacturer PPG Industries Inc (NYSE: PPG) has put its windshield business up for sale. The company instead will rely on its high-tech coatings business and optical & specialty material segments that offer long-term growth potential.

At about 2:30 p.m. Eastern time today, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) moved through the 1,553.11 level, surpassing its March 24, 2000 intraday peak that would go on to represent the index's all-time high for more than seven years.

The index hurdled this level with little fanfare at first, but it is certainly a monumental achievement. In recent weeks, the broad-market index has managed lots of little victories, hitting a new 52-week high, and a new all-time closing high, for example. But none of these were really that exciting, when you'd remember that 1,553.11 level hanging overhead.

Now we've got about an hour to wait and see if the SPX can close above this level, quelling fears about technical resistance until the psychologically important 2,000 mark comes to play.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.