Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks Features Phelps Dodge, Hercules, Bank of New York, Whirlpool, and General Motors.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the March 30 edition of Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks are Phelps Dodge (NYSE:PD), Hercules (NYSE:HPC), Bank of New York (NYSE:BK), Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR), and General Motors (NYSE:GM). Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks is just one of the many free market commentaries written everyday at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. For additional information about this report or to have it delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRSHS12M&PAGE=1 .

Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks for Thursday, March 30, 2006:

A daily feature available on SchaeffersResearch.com is the "SPX Hot Stocks" column. Each afternoon, we will provide a list of the day's top-20 performing stocks in the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,300.66) as well as the bottom-20 names. Featured along with this table will be news that is moving some of the securities.

NOTE: Stocks trading under $5 per share have been eliminated from this listing of the top-20 and bottom-20 performing stocks.

Stocks are trading lower this afternoon, thanks to a sell-off in bonds sending long-term interest rates to their highest level in nearly two years. This sell-off sparked concern that the higher cost of borrowing could hurt economic growth. Subsequently, the morning's strength has given way to a bit of selling pressure. At 10:10 this morning, the SPX hit its intraday high and went into a tailspin. It seems that 1:30 may set the low point for the day, but we still have a bit of trading time to go. Currently 36 percent (182) of the SPX components are in positive territory.

Phelps Dodge (NYSE:PD) makes an appearance at the top of our hot-stocks list this afternoon, thanks to an upgrade from Morgan Stanley. The brokerage house upped its copper price forecast, and subsequently upped PD to "overweight" from "equal-weight." Morgan Stanley noted that it believes, "the copper price will stay above $2.00 per pound until 2008, and we could see the spot price move to the $2.60-$2.80/lb range on a short-term basis." Not all the news for PD was good; Desjardins downgraded the company to "hold" from "buy." Investors shook off this news, and PD is more than five percent higher on the day.

This morning, Jeffries upgraded Hercules (NYSE:HPC) to "buy" from "hold," and all the gods smiled. This news sent the shares gapping higher, but they have since backed away from the 14 level. While the stock has given back a bit of today's gains, it appears poised to finish the month above its 80-month moving average for the first time ever. Keep an eye on this company, let's see if it can complete this task. HPC advanced more than five percent following this news.

Bank of New York (NYSE:BK) has added nearly four percent this afternoon. The company advanced after a broadcast report noted that it is close to selling its branch-banking business to J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) for up to $4 billion. This news has not only been good for BK, but also for the AMEX Securities Broker/Dealer Index (XBD), which increased nearly one percent.

On to the bad news, Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) is nearly five percent lower this afternoon. This drop comes on the heels of federal regulators approving WHR's acquisition of Maytag (MYG). The regulators stated that the proposed deal isn't likely to dampen competition in the appliance industry. The committee noted that any attempt to raise prices by the appliance company would likely be unsuccessful. WHR is the largest appliance manufacturer in the United States and MYG is the third-largest.

Our final stock for today is General Motors (NYSE:GM), which has lost more than 3.5 percent on the day. Apparently, the automaker is discussing the sale of its stake in Isuzu Motors, which is worth roughly $323 million. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that GM has inched closer to selling a 51-percent stake in its GMAC financing unit. This news comes after the company agreed to the broad structure of a deal with investors led by Cerberus Capital Management.

Click the following link to see a Chart of the SPX 500 Index's Top-20 Percentage Gainers: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=15677 .

Click the following link to see a Chart of the SPX 500 Index's Top-20 Percentage Losers: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=15677 .

Take advantage of the timely Schaeffer commentaries by signing up for their free e-newsletters -- Opening View, Market Recap and Monday Morning Outlook. Click here to have the Schaeffer's commentaries delivered to you free via email every day. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRSHS12M&PAGE=1 .

About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com)

Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method .