Unless you've been living in a cave, you've probably been hearing (and seeing) a lot about the iPhone, the Apple handset.

In New York, people are camping outside the Apple Store hoping to be the first one to get their hands on it:

So as a trader, maybe you think it’s time to go long on AAPL and ride the “iPhone madness”, right? Think again.

Stocks closed higher on the day and week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its first six-session string of gains in more than four months. However, price action was restrained on light trading volume ahead of the three-day Easter holiday. Gains were also limited by anticipation about Friday's monthly employment report, which is likely to influence trading early next week.

Stock of Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) closed down $0.56 or 4.6% to $11.51, after reporting quarterly earnings loss that was steeper than expected. The chipmaker also said that prices for memory chips have stabilized recently and that demand should pick up this year. The company took a $52 million loss in its second quarter and was cut to sell by Goldman Sachs. For the first quarter of fiscal 2007, the company reported a profit of $192 million, up from $63 million earned in the same period last year. This topped analysts' consensus estimate. Quarterly sales rose 16% to $1.58 billion, helped by demand for DRAM memory chips used in PCs being built ahead of Microsoft Corp.'s release of Vista.

Shares of Daimler Chrysler (NYSE: DCX) closed up $3.73 or 3% to $84.80, after billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian offered to buy Chrysler for $4.5 billion. His bid is contingent upon reaching a deal on a new labor agreement with the United Auto Workers union. He would offer ownership stakes to the union and its membership as well as Chrysler management were he to buy it. The offer is contingent on reaching an "equitable arrangement" with DaimlerChrysler for it to assume some of the unfunded pension liabilities and health care costs of Chrysler retirees.

Stocks rose slightly after a raft of economic reports - on the service-sector, employment and factory orders - came in weaker than expected and tempered an earlier boost from falling crude oil prices. Investors eyed lower oil prices and weaker than expected reports.

Shares of Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) closed down $1.24 to $47.89, despite reporting higher quarterly earnings that topped estimates. It reported an 18.5% rise in fourth-quarter profit, helped by sales of flat-panel televisions, and announced that it plans to offer Apple computers in 200 stores this year. Net income for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 3 rose to $763 million, from $644 million a year earlier. Revenue increased 21% to $12.9 billion, and same-store sales increased 5.9%.

Shares of Daimler Chrysler (NYSE: DCX) closed down $0.38 to $82.57, after the CEO confirmed that the company is talking with potential buyers about its money-losing Chrysler unit. However, he was not able to give details of discussions and said all options for the automaker are still on the table.

Stocks rallied broadly lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average by nearly 130 points to a five-week high, as investors cheered a drop in crude oil prices amid easing tensions between the UK and Iran, and with sentiment also lifted by a rise in pending homes sales in February. It is evident that if there is any good news on housing, the market is going to rally because sub-prime-driven volatility has been the big boogeyman for the market.

Stocks closed slightly higher as a raft of deals, including a $29 billion leveraged buyout of First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC), weighed against a weak manufacturing report and high oil prices. While the news of mergers and other equity deals indicated that there's still a lot of money out there, the ISN numbers were a disappointment.

Stocks finished a volatile session on a mixed note mirroring a likewise volatile and mixed performance for the first quarter, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average now in negative territory for the year so far, while other stock proxies hold on to meager gains. The market initially took a sharp downturn after news that the U.S. has imposed trade sanctions on China and as tensions over a stand-off between Iran and the UK kept oil prices near $66 a barrel.

Stocks threw off losses to close higher. They were bolstered by news of an unexpected upward revision to fourth-quarter growth as investors looked past a rise in crude oil prices above $66 a barrel. It is evident that the process of rallies and pull-backs would continue for some months.

Stocks pared losses but still ended lower after the chairman of the Federal Reserve reiterated concerns about inflation and disappointed investors hoping that weaker growth would soon push the Fed closer to cutting interest rates. Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economic outlook has become more uncertain in recent weeks, reviving recession worries.

Stocks closed lower as concerns about the stumbling housing market and the economy resurfaced after an uncertain outlook from homebuilder Lennar Corp (NYSE: LEN) showed widespread drops in home prices. The weak profit report revived worries about the housing sector and a big drop in consumer confidence fed concerns about the broader economy.

Stocks reduced their losses to close mixed after investors took heart from the close of crude futures below $63 a barrel and some positive brokerage talk about technology bellwethers like eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) and Dell Inc (NYSE: DELL). Earlier in the session, stocks dropped sharply after news that sales of new homes unexpectedly fell to a 7 year low in February, fueling concerns that the stumbling housing market might derail economic growth. However, gains in technology and commodities offset the impact of the weak read on new home sales.

Stock of Citigroup (NYSE: C) closed down $0.18 to $51.54, after reporting that it is looking to cut 15,000 jobs, as part of a broader restructuring plan that could cost the bank $1 billion. This cut would represent about a 5% reduction in Citigroup's worldwide work force of 327,000. Some of the reduction could be achieved by not filling positions opened through normal attrition.