Markets Brush Off Warning Signs in Charge Higher

The markets are doing everything they can to brush off potentially bad news and focusing on optimism today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) is up 0.53%, and the S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC) is up 0.32% with a half-hour left in trading.

Moody's could have soured the markets news by saying that it would likely downgrade U.S. debt if a deal isn't reached before we go off the "fiscal cliff." John Boehner responded by saying he wasn't confident at all that a deal would be reached. But investors yawned at the bickering coming from Washington, D.C., and focused on hopes that central banks would boost the economy. Eventually this may be a bigger story, but not today.

Bank of America (NYS: BAC) was the biggest gainer on the Dow, rising 3.7% today. A U.S. appeals court upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit accusing the bank of racial bias. The bank is also rising on speculation that the Fed will keep rates low at its meeting starting tomorrow and potentially announce a third round of quantitative easing.

Kraft Foods (NYS: KFT) led the decliners on the Dow, falling 1.2% in afternoon trading. Credit Suisse lowered its estimates for the company, and the stock can't seem to get a solid footing despite the rising market. The company's spin-off plans are causing some investors to question the company going forward, and this will likely be a turbulent month until Kraft Foods Group and Modelez International are officially separate companies.

We can't talk about the market today without discussing the elephant in the room: Apple (NAS: AAPL) . The tech giant will announce the iPhone 5 tomorrow, and the rumor mill is running full-steam. Some are even predicting that the phone launch will have a positive impact of 0.5% on GDP growth -- wow.

The stock has had an up-and-down day, settling 0.7% lower as I am writing, but tomorrow is when the fireworks really fly. Keep up to date with our live coverage tomorrow and check out our premium report on the stock, including a special iPhone 5 report. Click here to find out more.

The article Markets Brush Off Warning Signs in Charge Higher originally appeared on Fool.com.

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