As the first full solar eclipse in years plunged parts of the world into total darkness, the financial world focused on the first Federal Reserve meeting since 1987 to be chaired by someone other than Alan Greenspan. Following the Fed's decision on Tuesday to hike rates, Wall Street remained under a cloud.

As new Fed Chief Ben Bernanke took his place in the sun, he seemed more inclined to follow a familiar data-dependent path than to chart a new course. The Fed expectedly raised its target short-term rate to 4.75%, its fifteenth consecutive increase, and the highest level since April 2001. The closely watched accompanying policy statement gave every indication that more increases may follow, if economic data warrant such a move. Stocks fell out of orbit following the release, plummeting more than 95 points on the Dow. Although stocks attempted a recovery on Wednesday, higher bond yields obscured that effort during Thursday and Friday, as the 10-year note reached 4.857%, its highest level since June 2004.

Let's wish upon a lucky star that this week's economic data will have a heavenly alignment. Reports for March include the ISM manufacturing index and auto sales, due today; retail sales on Thursday; and most significantly, the employment figures on Friday. Corporate earnings include releases from Bed Bath & Beyond and Monsanto on Wednesday, and Constellation Brands and American Greetings on Thursday.

Stay market-tuned and Foolish!

Capital markets summary

U.S. Equities

Commodities

Foolish Quiz:

1. On Tuesday, the day of the Fed's announcement:

__ (a). all 30 Dow components closed down.

__ (b). the Dow's biggest loser was Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ).

__ (c). the Dow sustained a triple-digit price swing.

__ (d). the Dow stayed in negative territory all day.

2. The Nasdaq hit five-year highs on Wednesday.

__ True __ False

3. Last week's stock market stars included:

__ (a). Lennar (NYSE:LEN)

__ (b). Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ:LVLT)

__ (c). Best Buy (NYSE:BBY)

__ (d). Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE)

4. Sectors immediately blinded by the Fed's glare included:

__ (a). utilities

__ (b). financials

__ (c). energy

__ (d). technology

5. The policy statement accompanying the Fed meeting cited:

__ (a). energy prices

__ (b). housing prices

__ (c). commodity prices

__ (d). stock prices

6. Gold and silver each hit multi-decade highs on Thursday.

__ True __ False

7. Equities ended the first calendar quarter:

__ (a). with positive performances from the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500.

__ (b). with the Dow performing best.

__ (c). with the Nasdaq performing best.

__ (d). with the S&P 500 performing best.

8. In Nassau County, Long Island, roughly one in 12 households is worth at least $1 million, excluding principal residences.

__ True __ False

9. Merger news included:

__ (a). Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) completing its acquisition of Maytag (NYSE:MPY).

__ (b). NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ:NDAQ) upping its offer for the London Stock Exchange.

__ (c). JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) possibly purchasing up to 300 retail branches of Bank of New York (NYSE:BK).

__ (d). Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) potentially combining with KimcoRealty (NYSE:KIM)

10. If you want to have a chance at getting away with insider trading, consider running for Congress.

__ True __ False

Answers:
1. (b), (c). Home Depot (NYSE:HD) managed to close flat, while its fellow Dow components all closed down. Computer maker Hewlett-Packard was the index's biggest loser, shedding 3.14%, attributed in part to growing disappointment on the first-year anniversary of its CEO. Despite all three major indices in positive territory prior to the announcement, each closed down, with the Dow trading in a 136.75 range before closing down 95.57 points for the day at 11,154.54.

2. True. The Nasdaq hit five-year highs on Wednesday, propelled by a broad rally in tech stocks and closing at 2337.78, its highest level since February 2001. The index rose over another three points on Thursday, boosted by an 8.4% surge in shares of ATI Technologies (NASDAQ:ATYT) following its second-quarter earnings announcement.

3. (a), (b). Homebuilder Lennar built a 1.2% gain Tuesday after its first-quarter profit topped 34%, reaffirming its financial target for the year. Network operator Level 3 also surged 15.9% on Tuesday, after it communicated its belief that it will meet or exceed first-quarter expectations because of stronger results in its core business. On Thursday, Best Buy reported that its fourth-quarter profits rose 13% as consumers emptied their wallets for flat-panel screens and MP3 players. The company's shares went on to end up 2.9% for the week. The electronics retailer also announced that it would pull the plug on its practice of providing quarterly guidance, in an effort to focus more attention on long-term performance. Freddie Mac lost 2.3% Friday and 3.8% for the week after it estimated that its 2005 net income fell 22% from the preceding year. The government-sponsored mortgage lending company will release detailed results in late May.

4. (a), (b), (d). Energy and oil-service stocks escaped the Fed's wrath and moved higher, with crude oil futures topping $66 per barrel Tuesday amid continuing international concerns. The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector gained 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Financial 100 lost 1%. Tech stocks also suffered, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling 0.2%. The Dow Jones Utilities Average had a power outage of 0.57%.

5. (a), (c). The statement mentioned energy and commodity prices in a departure from the previous text, but deemed their effect as modest on core inflation. No housing data was included, despite growing concerns that the housing boom may be waning and that higher interest rates could exacerbate the impact of a slump.

6. True. Both gold and silver continued their molten streaks last week, each hitting multi-decade highs on Thursday. Gold shone from safe-haven buying on fears of Iran's military maneuvers and pressure on the dollar. Silver continues to celebrate the anticipated debut of an ETF from Barclays, to be backed by physical supplies; last week it traded above $11 for the first time since April 1987.

7. (a), (c). Each of the three major indices finished the quarter in positive territory. The Dow gained 3.7% and the S&P 500 advanced 3.7%. Topping them both, the Nasdaq rose 6%.

8. False. According to a report in The New York Times last Monday, a British market research firm has found that in most large U.S. counties, about one household in 12 was worth $1 million or more (including some tax-deferred retirement savings, but not IRAs). That wasn't the case in Nassau County; millionaire households there were found to be more than twice as common. The overall number of millionaire households grew last year to a record-breaking 8.9 million.

9. (a), (c). Whirlpool completed its $1.7 billion acquisition of Maytag on Friday, following the U.S. Justice Department's approval on Wednesday. No such news will come for Nasdaq, which pulled its $4.2 billion offer for the LSE on Thursday. Rumors circulated the same day of a potential $4 billion purchase by JPMorgan Chase of hundreds of Bank of New York's retail branches, but no official comment came from either company. Finally, the only address Boston Properties and Kimco Realty will be sharing is membership in the S&P 500, as the former replaces Cinergy (NYSE:CIN) after the close Friday and the latter replaces Jefferson-Pilot (NYSE:JP) after today's bell.

10. True. April Fool's! Actually, this is no laughing matter. The Wall Street Journal reports that legislation was introduced last week that would prohibit members of Congress and their aides from trading on non-public information gathered in their activities. Executive branch employees are already banned from such activity. Write your public servants and let them know that the definition of "insider trading" under SEC should be expanded to include any Capitol Hill jokers profiting from material non-public knowledge.

Scoring:
8-10 correct: Foolishly impressive.
6-7 correct: Almost Foolish.
1-5 correct: OK, but just barely.
0 correct: Really?! Keep reading the Fool and watch your scores improve!

Bed Bath & Beyond and Best Buy are Motley Fool Stock Advisor selections. Home Depot is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick. JPMorgan Chase is a Motley Fool Income Investor pick.

Fool contributor S. J. Caplan is a former Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of Goldman Sachs, and former Vice President and Derivative Finance Specialist at Lehman Brothers. She serves as an arbitrator for the New York Stock Exchange and the NASD. The Fool has a disclosure policy .