{"id":402863,"date":"2011-04-27T19:34:31","date_gmt":"2011-04-27T19:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/27\/sp-500-at-highest-level-since-june-2008\/"},"modified":"2011-04-27T19:34:31","modified_gmt":"2011-04-27T19:34:31","slug":"sp-500-at-highest-level-since-june-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/sp-500-at-highest-level-since-june-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"S&P 500 at highest level since June 2008"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"stock<\/a>Click chart for more market data.<\/strong><\/span> By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporter<\/span>April 27, 2011: 3:34 PM ET<\/span><\/p>\n

NEW YORK\u00a0(CNNMoney) — Stocks rose Wednesday afternoon after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke reassured investors that the nation’s economic recovery is on track.<\/p>\n

A couple of hours before the press conference, the central bank said it would keep interest rates low<\/a> and end its $600 billion Treasury buying program in June.<\/p>\n

Bernanke said the Fed will only reverse course to tighten rates when the economy is ready.<\/p>\n

With less than an hour left in trading, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU<\/a>) gained 64 points, or 0.4%, the S&P 500 (SPX<\/a>) rose 4 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP<\/a>) added 14 points, or 0.5%.<\/p>\n

The modest gains put all three indexes at fresh multi-year highs. The Dow climbed to the highest levels since May 2008, while the S&P 500 rose to the highest levels since June 2008. The Nasdaq pushed to the highest levels since January 2001.<\/p>\n

With the Fed’s meeting on top of this week’s onslaught of corporate earnings and economic reports, “investors have a lot to digest,” said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co.<\/p>\n

“Trying to guess how Bernanke will respond to the media’s question is a tough game to play,” he said.<\/p>\n

Bernanke said the Fed would end its bond-buying program “without tapering,” and that there were no plans to do more. “The trade-offs are getting less attractive,” he said. Bernanke also noted that the central bank’s balance sheet would remain constant after QE2 ends.<\/p>\n

U.S. stocks finished at their highest levels in three years<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Companies<\/strong><\/a>: GE’s (GE<\/a>, Fortune 500<\/a>) stock jumped more than 3%, leading the Dow’s gainers. At an annual shareholder’s meeting, the conglomerate’s CFO said the company’s profit growth over the next few years will be the fastest it has seen in a decade.<\/p>\n

Shares of Merck (MRK<\/a>, Fortune 500<\/a>) rose 1.4% after the Dow component got the green light from its board for a $5 billion share buyback program.<\/p>\n

Shares of Boeing (BA<\/a>, Fortune 500<\/a>) rose more than 1% after the aeronautics company reported a 13% increase in its first-quarter profit.<\/p>\n

For-profit educator DeVry’s (DV<\/a>) stock was the best performer on the S&P 500 after popping more than 7%. Late Tuesday, DeVry reported a 14% rise in its quarterly profit.<\/p>\n

Amazon.com (AMZN<\/a>, Fortune 500<\/a>)’s stock was the biggest winner on the Nasdaq, with shares rising 7%, even though the online merchant reported first-quarter earnings<\/a> that fell by one-third compared to a year earlier and sharply missed Wall Street forecasts.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, shares of Broadcom (BRCM<\/a>, Fortune 500<\/a>) sank almost 12% after the semiconductor company issued a disappointing outlook. Broadcom was the worst performing company in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.<\/p>\n

After the close, Starbucks (SBUX<\/a>, Fortune 500<\/a>) reports results. The coffee retailer is expected to earn 34 cents a share.<\/p>\n

Economy:<\/strong><\/a> The government said new orders for durable goods increased 2.5% in March, after a 0.7% rise the month before. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect an increase of 1.8% in March.<\/p>\n

World markets:<\/strong><\/a> European stocks closed mixed. The DAX in Germany rose 0.7%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.7%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 ended slightly lower.<\/p>\n

Asian markets also ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong both fell about 0.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei rallied 1.4%.<\/p>\n

Standard & Poor’s warned that Japan’s government could face a downgrade<\/a> of its credit rating within the next few years, as the nation’s economy recovers from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.<\/p>\n

S&P lowered its outlook on Japan’s long-term debt to “negative” from “stable,” saying the government will likely bear most of the cost of rebuilding. The ongoing struggle to contain a damaged nuclear power plant in Japan makes the outlook even more uncertain, the agency said.<\/p>\n

Currencies<\/strong><\/a> and commodities:<\/a><\/strong> The dollar fell against the euro and the British pound, but rose 1.3% versus the Japanese yen.<\/p>\n

Oil for June delivery gained 38 cents to $112.59 a barrel.<\/p>\n

Gold futures for June delivery rose $5.00 to $1,508.50 an ounce.<\/p>\n

Bonds<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong> The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, with the yield rising to 3.37% from Tuesday’s yield of 3.32%.\u00a0\"To<\/a><\/p>\n

First Published: April 27, 2011: 9:44 AM ET<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Go here to read the rest:
\nS&P 500 at highest level since June 2008<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click chart for more market data. By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporter April 27, 2011: 3:34 PM ET NEW YORK\u00a0(CNNMoney) — Stocks rose Wednesday afternoon after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke reassured investors that the nation’s economic recovery is on track. 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