DOW JONES

U.S. asset markets sold off Tuesday as investors interpreted new data from China to mean that country's economy might be slowing down faster than previously thought. Of paramount concern was a government report showing new home prices had recently declined in 45 of 70 major cities, with prices static in 21 other metropolitan areas.

The National Development and Reform Commission is raising retail gas prices by 600 yuan ($95) a metric ton, leading to an average pump price hike of 6.8 percent.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index continued to rise to touch the highest since May 2008 following the announcement from Apple that it has decided to pay a dividend as well as launch a stock buy backs program.

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) downloaded $45 billion, to borrow a phrase from the Financial Times, to its shareholders Monday, lifting both its own stock and the already buoyant broader market.

European markets lost ground as the lack of positive catalysts prompted a pause in the recent string of gains, while Asian stocks were mostly higher.

UPS will pay €9.50 a share in cash for Europe's second-biggest express-delivery provider, up from a February bid of €9 a share and 54 percent above TNT shares' closing price on Feb. 16. The deal is the biggest in UPS's 105-year history.

Mike Lang, chief executive of Miramax, has unexpectedly resigned after joining the company a little over a year ago. Lang is temporarily serving as a consultant for Steve Schoch, Miramax's chief financial officer, who has taken on the position of interim chief executive.

You can't blame investors for feeling a bit squeamish regarding deploying new money in the U.S. stock market these days, despite the Dow Jones Industrial Average's (DJIA) recent rise to 13,000. Where's the Dow headed in the next three months?

Consumers didn't get the escape velocity memo, the one that says economic and financial things are getting better and better. A Thomson Reuters/Univ. of Michigan survey released Friday found consumer sentiment down, especially on expectations for the next six months.

A leading survey of U.S. consumer confidence showed consumers were less optimistic in early March than they had been through most of 2012, as inflation worries put a damper on improving views of current wealth.

Marubeni Corp., a large Japanese diversified trading company, is in talks to buy a 10 to 12.5 percent stake in a huge iron mine owned by Australia's Hancock Prospecting, a source told Dow Jones.

Stocks were flat on Friday as data showed inflation remained in check last month as the domestic economy continues to improve, but consumer sentiment slipped.

The positive reports on the U.S. economy are seen as the major cause of the stocks rallying.

Paris-based credit rating agency Fitch warned the government of the United Kingdom Thursday that the country still stood to lose its sterling AAA rating were the economic situation in Europe to deteriorate further. The action came at a politically sensitive time for Britain.

Claims for jobless benefits fell back to a four-year low of 351,000, providing more evidence that the labor market is healing.

Whatever buzz came from the post-FOMC statement and catapulted stocks up on Tuesday turned into a hush Wednesday afternoon. Equities started strong but ended with a whimper.

The Dow Jones Industrial average rose 218 points, or 1.8%, to close at 13,177, which was the highest since Dec .31, 2007.

Stocks shot up Tuesday, propelled by a strong U.S. retail sales report, a German investor confidence survey and a statement by the Federal Open Market Committee noting improvement in household and business spending as well as job creation.

U.S. stocks soared Tuesday in afternoon trading, amid strong reports of retail sales and business inventories and buoyant sentiments from the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve officials decided to keep the near-term interest rates unchanged at ultra-low levels but offered few clues about plans for further easing, as highly anticipated, while the Fed noted recent strength in the labor market and that strains have eased in global financial markets.

Stock index futures advanced on Tuesday ahead of data that could provide clues about the intensity of consumer spending and before a monetary policy announcement from the Federal Reserve.