Stocks End Higher as Bernanke Letter Raises Hopes of Further Easing
Stocks ended higher in trading today, with all three major indexes finishing near session highs. Stocks rallied after the Wall Street Journal reported that in response to questions posed by U.S. Rep. Darrel Issa, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wrote in a letter dated August 22 that there is a scope for further action by the Fed to ease financial conditions and strengthen the recovery.
The Dow Jones ended the day 0.77% higher at 13,157.97, the S&P 500 ended the day 0.65% higher at 1,411.13, and the Nasdaq ended the day 0.54% higher at 3,069.79.
Earlier this week, minutes from Fed’s most recent meeting suggested that the central bank is likely to implement additional easing measures soon unless there is a significant improvement in the U.S. economy. The minutes lifted sentiments initially, however, the initial excitement faded, with stocks falling sharply in trading on Thursday.
It looked like the decline would continue in trading today as well, with all three major indexes slipping in early trading. But, stocks bounced back sharply after the Bernanke letter surfaced. Bernanke’s comments in the letter have once again raised hopes of further easing from the Federal Reserve.
Consumer Non-Cyclical sector led the gains in the S&P 500 today, ending the day 0.86% higher. Healthcare sector ended the day 0.78% higher. Energy sector rose 0.35%, while Financials rose 0.31%. Basic Materials sector was the worst performer today, ending the day 0.26% lower.
Among the major gainers in trading today were Aruba Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN), which ended the day 14.42% higher at $19.36, Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX), which ended the day 8.22% higher at $17.65, and MICROS Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MCRS), which ended the day 7.01% higher at $51.59.
European markets ended mostly higher today, with the EURO STOXX Index ending 0.21% higher. Asian markets ended mostly lower overnight, with the Nikkei 225 Index in Japan falling 1.17%, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong falling 1.25%.
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Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.
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