Bernanke Comments Turn Around Stocks; Most Sectors End With Gains

Stocks turned higher this afternoon after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke released copies of a recent letter to a Congressional critic where he again said the central bank is prepared to provide "additional accommodation as needed." Financial stocks led the rise higher, eventually carrying nine of the 10 industry sectors in the S&P 500 back into positive territory. Shares of materials companies were the lone losers today with gold, copper and most other metals declining in commodities trading. Crude oil also ended lower, giving back earlier gains supported by Tropical Storm Issac seen threatening oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Although the Fed chief did not say anything new in the letter to Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican who is head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, many traders took his comment "there is scope for further action" as a sign the Fed is close to moving forward with additional easing. The letter also heightened attention on his upcoming remarks next Friday at the Kansas City Fed's annual economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Stocks were under pressure early after German officials indicated they are not willing to give Greece additional time to implement austerity measures. According to a German government official, speaking on the guarantee of anonymity, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande agreed that Greece must meet the commitments it has made as a condition of its international bailouts. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is due in Paris tomorrow to meet with the French president. Samaras has called out this week for more time for his country to meet its debt reduction targets.

New durable-goods data also seemed to dampen trader moods despite the 4.2% rise in big-ticket orders last month topping expectations for a 3.0% gain. Much of July's rise was attributed to climbing demand for airlines and autos while orders were weak in the other sectors, according to the Commerce Department. Orders for core capital goods excluding defense and transportation, a key barometer of U.S. business spending, dropped by 3.4% in July.

Commodities were mixed. December gold rose 10 cents to $1672.30 an ounce while, September silver rose $0.18 to $30.63. September copper fell a penny to $3.48. Crude oil for October delivery are down slightly in late trade, slipping 8 cents to $96.19 a barrel. September natural gas was down 6 cents at 2.74 per 1 million BTU.

Here's where the markets stood at end-of-day:

Dow Jones Industrial Average up 100.51 (+0.77%) to 13,157.97

S&P 500 up 9.05 (+0.65%) to 1,411.13

Nasdaq Composite Index up 16.39 (+0.54%) to 3,069.79

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

Hang Seng Index down 1.25%

Shanghai China Composite Index down 0.99%

FTSE 100 Index was unchanged

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) MSG, Sports and entertainment company reported Q4 revenue of $332.92 million, easily beating the analyst consensus expecting only $277.14 million. Also beats on earnings, bringing in $0.37 a share - crushing estimates by $0.15.

(+) SVU, Struggling grocery chain reportedly near deals for selected assets. Cerberus Capital said considering Albertson's unit while Koninklijke Ahold NV, the Dutch parent of Giant Food Stores, is interested in the Shoppers chain. Other private equity firms also may make bids, Bloomberg reports.

(+) ARUN, Mobile networking equipment manufacturer's Q4 earnings, ex items, of $0.18 a share are a penny better than analyst projections. Revenues rose 22% to $139.2 million, beating estimates by $2.4 million.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) GGP, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) said it has no interest in either expanding or selling its 40% stake in the mall owner.

(-) RUE, Kid's clothing retailer posted Q2 sales of $202.1 million, trailing analyst estimates by $1.12 million. Same-store sales rise 0.5%.

(-) ADSK, AutoCAD software-maker reports per-share adjusted Q2 earnings a penny below the analyst consensus expecting $0.49 a share. Revenues rose 4% to $569 million, also trailing Street view.