Stocks Gain on Bernanke
NEW YORK—Stocks pulled off session highs but remained in positive territory as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke continued to testify to Congress.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 64 points, or 0.4%, to 15449.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added six points, or 0.4%, to 1675, and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced eight points, or 0.2%, to 3511.
Benchmarks pulled back from the day's highs as Mr. Bernanke's testimony continued, and investors found few surprises. Mr. Bernanke said that the Fed could "take a step down" from bond-buying within the next few policy-setting meetings if economic data supports that path. At the session's peak, the blue chips had gained 155 points, as Mr. Bernanke warned that a premature exit from stimulus would stall the recovery. At 2 p.m. EDT, the minutes to the most recent meeting of the Fed's monetary-policy committee meeting will be released.
"There was a growing expectation that he would start to delineate further when he was starting to withdraw the stimulus," said Matthew Kaufler, who oversees about $3.5 billion in assets as a portfolio manager at Federated Investors.
Gold erased the session's gains as Mr. Bernanke's testimony continued, declining 0.7%. Shortly following his statement, the metal traded above $1,400 an ounce for the first time since May 15. Gold in recent weeks has sold off as investors increasingly bet that the Federal Reserve would scale back its easy-money policies soon.
Prices on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond initially crept higher on Mr. Bernanke's statements, but jumped as his testimony continued, pushing yields briefly above 2%. The note was yielding 1.977% in recent trading.
The dollar fell against the euro and pared gains against the yen immediately after Mr. Bernanke's comments. But it quickly rebounded, as investors bet that a rebound in the U.S. economy will continue to gain traction, while growth in Europe and Japan stalls.
In other economic news, April sales of existing homes rose less than expected from March, by 0.6% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.97 million. They were are expected to rise 1.4%.
European markets edged up slightly. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.1%.
Asian markets were mixed, but the region's activity was highlighted by a 1.6% gain in Japan's Nikkei Stock Average to fresh multiyear highs. The gains came after the Bank of Japan kept its policy unchanged while saying the economy has started picking up. China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1%.
Crude-oil futures fell 1.5% to $94.64 a barrel, after inventory data showed an unexpected increase in supplies.
In corporate news, Saks rallied after the New York Post reported that the fashion retailer hired Goldman Sachs to explore strategic business alternatives, including a possible sale of the company. The company also reported first-quarter adjusted earnings that were in line with analysts' estimates.
Ford Motor gained. The auto maker said it plans to increase manufacturing capacity in North America by 200,000 vehicles to meet increasing demand.
Write to Alexandra Scaggs at
alexandra.scaggs@dowjones.com