S&P 500 Rises to Record Close as Bernanke Backs Stimulus

Bloomberg, (11/7) -- U.S. stocks jumped, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a record closing level, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke backed sustained monetary stimulus. The S&P 500 gained 1.4 percent to 1,675.02 at 4 p.m. in New York. The index topped the closing record of 1,669.16 reached May 21, erasing losses since Bernanke first suggested the Fed might curb stimulus this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 169.26 points, or 1.1 percent, to 15,460.92 today, also a record. Central bank stimulus has helped fuel a rally in stocks worldwide, with the benchmark U.S. index surging 148 percent from its March 2009 low. The S&P 500 has advanced for six straight days, the longest winning streak since March 11, and is heading toward its biggest weekly gain since Jan. 4. Bernanke said yesterday that “highly accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future” was needed in the world’s largest economy. The Fed chairman spoke just three hours after the central bank released minutes of the June 18-19 gathering showing that about half of the 19 participants in the Federal Open Market Committee wanted to halt $85 billion in monthly bond purchases by year end. At the same time, the minutes showed many Fed officials wanted to see more signs employment is improving before backing a trim to bond purchases known as quantitative easing. Data today showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased to a two-month high. The Labor Department last week released its jobs report for the month of June, showing the economy added 195,000 jobs, exceeding estimates, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.6 percent.