NEW YORK - Some soothing words from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pushed the stock market to slender gains Wednesday. Higher earnings for several major companies also helped.
Bernanke said that the U.S. central bank had no firm timetable for cutting back on its bond purchases. The Fed would consider reducing its stimulus program if the economy improves, but Bernanke emphasized in his testimony to Congress that the reductions were “by no means on a preset course.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 4.65 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,680.91. The Nasdaq composite rose 11.50 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,610.00
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 18.67 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,470.52.
Two stocks rose for everyone that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was thin at 3.1 billion shares.
The Dow was held back by American Express and Caterpillar. The credit card company’s stock slumped $1.47, or 1.9 percent, to $76.80 after European regulators proposed to cap the lucrative processing fees the card company imposes.
Caterpillar fell $1.50, or 1.7 percent, to $86.67 after prominent short-seller Jim Chanos said he was shorting the stock because it was exposed to a slump in the mining industry. In a presentation at the ‘Delivering Alpha’ conference, broadcast by CNBC, Chanos said Caterpillar was “tied to the wrong products, at the wrong time.”
Bernanke’s comments had a stronger effect on the Treasury market than on the stock market.
The yield on the 10-yearTreasury note fell to 2.49 percent from 2.53 percent late Tuesday as investors bought U.S. government bonds. The yield has been declining since July 5, when it surged to 2.74 percent after the government reported that hiring was strong in June.
If Treasury yields climb too fast, it worries stock investors because of the effect that rising interest rates have on the wider economy. For example, higher mortgage rates, which are linked to Treasury yields, would slow demand for homes.
The stock market has climbed back to record levels in July following its brief slump in June, when the S&P 500 logged its first monthly decline since October on concern that the Federal Reserve would ease back on its economic stimulus too quickly. The S&P 500 has gained 4.7 percent in July after falling 1.5 percent in June. It climbed to a record 1,682 on Monday.
The index is up 17.9 percent this year, and stocks could head higher still as the economy improves in the second half of the year, says Rob Lutts, chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management.
“Expect better things,” said Lutts. “The market’s going to churn its way higher from here.”
In commodities trading, the price of crude oil rose 48 cents to $106.48 a barrel. Gold fell $12.90, or 1 percent, to $1,277.50 an ounce.
The dollar rose against the euro and the Japanese yen.
Yahoo shares rose $2.78, or 10.3 percent, to $29.66 after the company reassured investors that it would keep buying back its own stock. The Internet company had already spent $3.6 billion buying back about 190 million of its shares since last year. The stock is trading at its highest in more than five years.
Business, Pages 24 on 07/18/2013