After Greek Moans Comes Spanish Groans .......

Dow Recaptures 11K; Contagion Fears Spread to Madrid
Wall Street mustered a tepid rebound from its worst day in almost three months on Wednesday as the Dow recaptured the 11000 level and the Nasdaq Composite inched higher even after another domino fell in Europe’s ongoing debt saga.

Stocks settled in the black today, as the Street opted for the glass-half-full approach. Early this morning, Standard & Poor's slashed its credit rating on Spain, predicting "a more protracted period of sluggish activity" than previously assumed. However, the latest sovereign-debt downgrade from across the pond was eventually overshadowed by a string of encouraging earnings reports -- led by Dow Chemical and the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain record-low interest rates. After a two-day meeting, the central bank vowed to hold its benchmark rate between zero and 0.25% for "an extended period" of time.

Meanwhile, banking stocks paced the advancing equities in afternoon trading, after Senate Republicans for the third time stalled a vote to debate on a financial regulation bill. Against this backdrop, the major market indexes pared a portion of Tuesday's deficit, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) reclaiming round-number support.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 11,045.27) finished 53.28 points, or 0.5%, higher, as all but seven of its 30 components settled north of breakeven.

Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase led the 23 advancing blue chips, while Wal-Mart Stores paved the path into the red. While the Dow still has some ground to cover before erasing yesterday's single-session dip, the index reclaimed the support of both the 11,000 level and its 20-day trendline.

The markets remain focused on the crisis in Europe, but Wall Street was only briefly spooked by Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade Spain's credit ratings. S&P's downgrades of both Greece and Portugal on Tuesday triggered a 213-point plunge -- the Dow's worst day since early February.

"Quote : Madrid is famous for it's prized bullfights but in this case Spain could be the 800-pound gorilla in the room"

The S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,191.36) also erased a portion of yesterday's losses, adding 7.65 points, or 0.65%. However, the broad-market barometer is still staring up at its own 20-day moving average, as well as the psychologically significant 1,200 level.

Finally, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,471.73) flirted with breakeven for most of the session, eventually eking out a slim gain of 0.26 point, or 0.01%. Limiting the tech-rich index's intraday pullbacks was the support of its 20-day moving average, which hasn't been breached on a daily closing basis since mid-February.

CRUDE OIL >>> Like the equities market, crude futures also received a lift from the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain rock-bottom interest rates. In addition, the Energy Information Administration said domestic gasoline inventories unexpectedly declined last week – despite accelerated refinery operations – pointing to recovering fuel demand. Against this backdrop, June-dated crude futures added 78 cents, or 1%, to settle at $83.22 per barrel.

GOLD >>> Gold futures also powered higher today, as Spain's ratings downgrade prompted a flight to safety among wary traders. What's more, the malleable metal ended in positive territory, despite the U.S. dollar's gains against the euro. Finishing in the black for the fourth straight session, gold for June delivery advanced $9.60, or 0.8%, to end at $1,171.80 an ounce – the loftiest closing price since early December 2009.