Wall Street rises as concern eases over Fed tapering

By Leah Schnurr

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank needed to see further signs of traction in the economy before it tapered its stimulus efforts.

The head of the central bank said the Fed's monetary stimulus was helping the economy recover, but emphasized the high costs of unemployment and inflation that continues to run below the Fed's target. The testimony before a Congressional panel helped boost indexes by as much as 1 percent.

But markets came off their highs by midday as Bernanke said the Fed could "take a step down in our pace of (bond) purchases" in the next few committee meetings if the job market continues to improve.

The market had a hawkish bend ahead of Bernanke's speech and cheered when the Fed chief's comments appeared dovish, according to Art Hogan, managing director at Lazard Capital Markets in New York.

"His prepared comments were as dovish as the market was expecting," Hogan said. "Then the market settled into the fact there was no new news."

The Fed is currently buying $85 billion a month in bonds as part of its efforts to boost the economy. The ultra loose monetary policy is one of the main forces behind a rally in U.S. equities that has helped the S&P 500 and Dow industrials gain about 18 percent so far this year.

But investors are turning their attention to when the Fed might alter or halt its bond-buying program and will parse the minutes from the central bank's last policy meeting, due at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 102.52 points, or 0.67 percent, to 15,490.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 10.07 points, or 0.60 percent, to 1,679.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 15.53 points, or 0.44 percent, at 3,517.65.

Adding to the bullish tone, data showed U.S. home resales rose in April to the highest in nearly 3-1/2 years as surging prices lured sellers back into market, which should support the housing sector and the overall economic recovery.

Health stocks led the S&P 500 higher, with Pfizer shares up 3.2 percent to $29.69 after the giant drug maker said it would unwind its remaining stake in animal health business Zoetis .

Bristol-Myers Squibb jumped 6.6 percent to $46.98 after a Citi note highlighted excitement surrounding so-called immunotherapy, in the wake of positive results from clinical trials conducted by companies such as Bristol-Myers and Roche Holding .

Shares of luxury department store chain Saks Inc jumped 13.8 percent to $15.55 after the New York Post, citing a source briefed on the matter, reported that Saks had hired Goldman Sachs to explore strategic alternatives that included a possible sale.

Target Corp cited unseasonably cold weather as it reported a 0.6 percent decline in first-quarter sales at U.S. stores open at least a year. Target cut its full-year profit forecast and its shares slid 3.7 percent to $68.65.

Toll Brothers shares rose 7.6 percent to $38.75 after the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder posted a 46 percent rise in quarterly profit, suggesting the housing recovery is picking up pace across the industry.

(Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/futures-tick-higher-ahead-bernanke-testimony-114035874.html

preppers geraldo obama trayvon martin pietrus cheney tori spelling marion barber