year $55 million deal with talk show host Oprah Winfrey. XM shares rose almost 7 percent to $26.31. Investors will also pay close attention to developments in the bond market on Thursday for clues about long-term interest rates. The government will sell $14 billion in 30-year bonds on Thursday, in the first long-dated bond auction since mid-2001 at approximately 1 p.m. (1800 GMT). "People will not sell stocks to buy the 30-year bond, but a good auction, with good demand for the securities, will actually be a positive," said Stephens' Olsen. Higher interest rates may hurt stocks as they may impact corporate borrowing and consumer spending. On January 31, the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark lending rate to 4.5 percent. On the economic front, a government report on Tuesday showed inventories at U.S. wholesalers rose 1.0 percent in December, above expectations for a 0.4 percent increase. --SP 22 39 Local Time 19 39 GMT
