Stocks saw considerable volatility as traders digested a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke but are mostly higher in late morning trading on Friday. The major averages are posting strong gains, offsetting the losses posted in the previous session.
Bernanke's closely watched speech at the Kansas City Fed's Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole did not offer much in the way of news, although the Fed chief reiterated that the central bank will act "as needed" to boost the sluggish economy.
Some analysts noted that a large portion of Bernanke's speech was devoted to touting the effectiveness of the Fed's "nontraditional policies" and suggested that he could be setting the stage for another round of quantitative easing at the Fed's September meeting.
Gold stocks have moved sharply higher on the day, benefiting from a notable increase by the price of the precious metal. With gold for December delivery surging up $20.40 to $1,677.50 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is up by 2.6 percent.
Considerable strength has also emerged among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. Steel, airline, and semiconductor stocks are also posting strong gains amid broad based buying interest.
The major averages have pulled back off their highs for the session in the past few minutes but remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 137.38 points or 1.1 percent at 13,138.09, the Nasdaq is up 26.22 points or 0.9 percent at 3,074.93 and the S&P 500 is up 11.82 points or 0.8 percent at 1,411.30.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.