STOCKS RISE TO A NEW-ALL TIME HIGH: Here's What You Need To Know

First the scoreboard:

Dow: 14,839, +21.0 pts, +0.1%
S&P 500: 1,597, +3.9 pts, +0.2%
NASDAQ: 3,328, +21.7 pts, +0.6%

And now the top stories:

• The stock market has yet to see a notable sell-off. During the last few seconds of today's trading session, the S&P 500 cleared its previous all-time intraday high of 1,597.35 and closed at 1,597.57
• Some experts warn that the outperformance of defensive stocks versus cyclical stocks is a sign of trouble. But based on the historical data, this conclusion is faulty. "Contrary to the current thinking it is not unusual for a defensive sector to be one of the three top performing sectors in an up market," said stock market guru Laszlo Birinyi citing research from 26 years worth of up-market data.
• The February reading of the Case-Shiller home price index beat expectations by a nice margin. The 20-city index grew by 9.32% year-over-year and 1.24% month-over-month. "Home prices continue to show solid increases across all 20 cities,” said S&P's David Blitzer. “The 10- and 20-City Composites recorded their highest annual growth rates since May 2006; seasonally adjusted monthly data show all 20 cities saw higher prices for two months in a row – the last time that happened was in early 2005."
• Economist Robert Shiller spoke with Business Insider's Henry Blodget on Yahoo' Daily Ticker about housing. When asked about where home prices would be ten years from now, Shiller responded that they would be “about where they are now” adjusted for inflation.
• In other great news, the Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence surged to 68.1 in April from last month's reading of 61.9. "However, consumers’ confidence has been challenged several times over the past few months by such events as the fiscal cliff, the payroll tax hike and the sequester," said the Conference Board's Lynn Franco. "Thus, while expectations appear to have bounced back, it is too soon to tell if confidence is actually on the mend."
• In bearish news, the Chicago Purchasing Managers index plunged to 49.0, which is a sign of contraction in the region. Economists were expecting the number to tick up to 52.5 from last month's reading of 52.4. Among other things, the employment sub-index collapsed to 48.7, down from 55.1 in March.
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