Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks Features State Street, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Northern Trust, Meredith Corp., and UnitedHealth Group.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the April 18 edition of Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks are State Street (NYSE:STT), Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX), Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS), Meredith Corp. (NYSE:MDP), and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH). 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 Tuesday, April 18, 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 - 1,307.50) 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.

As I start this edition of Hot Stocks, news is being released that the possibility of hiking interest rates too much was on the minds of members at the March 28th meeting. According to the minutes, most thought that the end of the rate hikes was "near," and some members were uncomfortable that past statements implied several more rate hikes. In fact, some members "expressed concerns about the dangers of tightening too much." The minutes in conjunction with comments from Fed members present the very real possibility that the Street's expectation of a five-percent stopping point may hold (thanks to the Dow Jones Newswire for the quotes). Looking at an intraday chart for the SPX, this news was greeted with a jump through the 1,304 level, but the index has leveled out a bit. Currently 92 percent (that's 461 companies, folks) are in positive territory.

As is the case every earnings season, positive and negative reports have a tremendous impact on what stocks we cover in Hot Stocks. Today, a positive report from State Street (NYSE:STT) vaulted it more than seven percent higher. The company posted first-quarter net income of 87 cents per share, 10 cents better than the consensus estimate.

The next stock moving higher today is everyone's spell checker's favorite, Freeport McMoRan Copper & gold (NYSE:FCX). Before the opening bell this morning, the company announced first-quarter earnings of $1.23 per share. Excluding a 17-cent charge for loss on the redemption of debt, earnings would have doubled last year's same-quarter results. According to Thomson First Call, the consensus estimate was for earnings of 88 cents per share on revenue of $927.4 million. FCX reported revenue of $803.1 million, thanks to historically high copper prices outpacing a drop in sales. When I pulled the numbers for today's article, FCX was more than seven percent higher.

The final upwardly mobile stock for today is Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS). Yet again, this company has earnings to thank for its ascension. The financial advising company reported first-quarter earnings of 74 cents per share, outpacing the consensus estimate of 67 cents per share. The company's chairman stated that the "performance was broad-based, driven by record trust, investment and other servicing fees, net interest income, and exchange revenues." Thanks to an increase close to seven percent, NTRS has set a multi-year high.

Let's now turn our focus to two of the 39 stocks in the SPX that have dropped thus far today. Topping the bottom of our list, I see Meredith Corp. (NYSE:MDP). Both Deutsche Bank and Citigroup cut the company to "hold" from "buy," and Deutsche Bank lowered its price target to $56 from $60, saying that it sees little upside to the current share price. Citigroup blamed the downgrade on deterioration in the company's magazine ad page pacings and the stock's recent strong performance. The broker stated that possible explanations for the recent weakness include late advertiser budget releases, very weak auto advertising, and digital experimentation at the expense of print. MDP has slumped more than eight percent after the double whack by the downgrade stick.

Rounding out our discussion today is UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) and its drop of more than two percent. Although the company saw earnings rise and raised its forecast for the year, the equity has lost ground thanks to short-term concerns from analysts. Quarterly income came in at 63 cents per share, or 68 cents per share when Medicare payments are taken into account, exceeding the 64 cents per share expected by the Street. UNH's shares have taken a bit of a hit by rotation in the health-insurance sector, according to an analyst at Merrill Lynch. The analysts also noted that the company needs to clarify its options grant process.

Click the following link to see a Chart of the SPX 500 Index's Top-20 Percentage Gainers: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=15817 .

Click the following link to see a Chart of the SPX 500 Index's Top-20 Percentage Losers: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=15817 .

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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 .