US close: Dow, S&P at record highs after Bernanke comments

LONDON (ShareCast) - - Markets react to Bernanke comments
- Jobless claims rise unexpectedly
- Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT - news) jumps after Ballmer announces shake-up

Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI - news) : 1.11%
Nasdaq: 1.63%
S&P 500: 1.35%

US stocks rose strongly on Thursday, with the S&P and Dow Jones indices closing at record highs, as markets reacted to dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made the night before.

The Nasdaq meanwhile finished at its best level in 13 years.
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After Wednesday's closing bell, a Q&A session with Bernanke caught the attention of investors as the Fed chief looked to reassure markets that short-term interest rates wouldn't be rising anytime soon, even if the unemployment rate falls dramatically. "It may be well sometime after we hit 6.5% before rates reach any significant level," he said.

"This admission appears to have put the prospects of any tapering programme on the back burner in the short term, and helped drive European equity markets to one-month highs," said Senior Market Analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets.

Markets appeared to be largely ignoring a report that showed that initial US weekly unemployment claims rose by 15,000 to hit a two-month high of 360,000. The consensus estimate was for a reading of 335,000.

The Labor Department said that "seasonal adjustments are typically difficult in July due to the traditional auto sector layoffs, school closings, and the holiday that occurs early in the month".

Tech group Microsoft gained sternly as investors welcomed Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer's "far-reaching alignment" of the company. In an e-mail to employees, the chief shook up top management and reorganised divisions in an effort to boost Microsoft's "speed, efficiency and capability".

Sector peer Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD - news) soared after Canaccord Genuity upgraded the chip maker from 'hold' to 'buy'.

Banking groups JPMorgan Chase (Other OTC: JPMLZ - news) and Wells Fargo (Other OTC: WFCNO - news) were in focus ahead of their quarterly results on Friday.

S&P 500 - Risers
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $4.45 +11.81%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $22.98 +9.17%
Lennar Corp (NYSE: LEN - news) . Class A (LEN) $37.44 +8.33%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $134.92 +7.87%
PulteGroup Inc (NYSE: PHA - news) . (PHM) $20.39 +7.20%
Teradata Corp. (TDC (Other OTC: TDCAF - news) ) $56.17 +6.38%
Apollo Group Inc (NasdaqGS: APOL - news) . (APOL) $18.97 +6.04%
Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE: BTU - news) . (BTU) $16.28 +5.78%
F5 Networks Inc (NasdaqGS: FFIV - news) . (FFIV) $76.09 +5.75%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $28.12 +5.67%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S - news) (S) $0.00 -100.00%
Nabors Industries Ltd (NYSE: NBR - news) . (NBR) $14.60 -2.60%
Regions Financial Corp. (RF) $9.88 -2.47%
TripAdvisor Inc (NasdaqGS: TRIP - news) . (TRIP) $60.44 -2.41%
Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) $21.47 -2.14%
First Horizon National Corp. (FHN) $11.86 -2.06%
Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF - news) . (ANF) $50.48 -1.90%
Keycorp (NYSE: KEY - news) (KEY) $11.57 -1.87%
SunTrust Banks Inc (NYSE: STI - news) . (STI (KOSDAQ: 039440.KQ - news) ) $33.34 -1.74%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $77.73 -1.72%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.99 +3.18%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $35.69 +2.84%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $66.58 +2.57%
Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA - news) . (AA) $8.10 +2.27%
Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT - news) . (CAT (Taiwan OTC: 4990.TWO - news) ) $86.70 +2.05%
United Technologies Corp (NYSE: UTX - news) . (UTX) $99.69 +1.94%
Cisco Systems Inc (NasdaqGS: CSCO - news) . (CSCO) $25.87 +1.81%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $26.38 +1.74%
General Electric Co. (GE) $23.94 +1.70%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $82.70 +1.39%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $67.88 +11.83%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $134.92 +7.87%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $76.09 +5.75%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NasdaqGS: REGN - news) . (REGN) $247.87 +4.72%
Equinix Inc (NasdaqGS: EQIX - news) . (EQIX) $199.51 +4.54%
Baidu Inc (NasdaqGS: BIDU - news) . (BIDU) $97.08 +3.91%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $84.70 +3.75%
PACCAR Inc (NasdaqGS: PCAR - news) . (PCAR) $56.82 +3.74%
Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC) $39.50 +3.65%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $44.46 +3.61%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (NWSA) $15.13 -1.69%
Nuance Communications Inc (NasdaqGS: NUAN - news) . (NUAN) $18.98 -0.52%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $67.02 -0.31%
Expedia Inc (NasdaqGS: EXPE - news) . (EXPE) $63.08 -0.22%
Dollar Tree Inc (NasdaqGS: DLTR - news) (DLTR) $54.17 -0.22%

BC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-close-dow-p-record-081000027.html

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