The S&P 500 gained 1.9% as most companies continue to top earnings forcasts and first quarter GDP grew at a slightly faster pace than was expected. As stocks gained, the dollar fell, gold hit a new record high and oil prices rose to a new multiyear high.

12 Month Stock Market Performance

Commodity prices rallied, with silver spiking 3.8%, crude advancing 1.2% and gold gaining 3.7% while the dollar index fell 1.2%. Gold is up 10% on the year, oil is up 24% and silver has increased in value by 55%. Meanwhile, the US greenback has fallen 7.7%.

The week was extremely earnings heavy, with nearly 150 S&P 500 companies releasing their quarterly results.

Research In Motion
(RIMM) took a pounding as the maker of BlackBerry devices lowered its profit forecast.

3M
(MMM) hit an all-time high following its upside report and forecast.

Amazon.com
(AMZN) rallied to a new record following its earnings beat.

Exxon Mobil
(XOM) garnered attention after posting a $11 bln quarterly profit, which was slightly ahead of estimates.

About 300 S&P 500 companies have reported first quarter earnings with 74% posting an upside surprise. Earnings are now expected to grow 16% this quarter, an increase from the 11.5% estimate at the beginning of the quarter.

The FOMC left the benchmark unchanged at between 0.00% and 0.25%, as expected. The Federal Reserve trimmed its 2011 growth forecast range by about 40 basis points. On a positive note, the Fed also decreased its unemployment expectations, now forecasting a range of between 8.4% and 8.7%.

In economic news, first quarter GDP rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.8%, slightly ahead of the Briefing.com consensus of 1.7%. An increase in imports, a slowdown in personal spending growth and a decrease in federal government spending resulted in the deceleration of GDP growth relative to prior quarters.

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