Stocks Sink As Stimulus Hopes Wane

U.S. stocks ended lower Thursday as new comments from the Federal Reserve chairman dashed investors’ hopes for the chance of further stimulus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 54.49 points, or 0.44%, to 12,437.12. The S&P 500 lost 8.85 points, or 0.67%, to 1,308.87. The Nasdaq Composite fell 34.25 points, or 1.22%, to 2,762.67.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that the U.S. central bank would be ready to inject more money should the economy get worse. But he told a Senate committee that the time had not come yet and noted inflation had picked up since late 2010.

Google delivered a blowout quarter, beating on both earnings and revenue. Its earnings excluding items shot up to $8.74 a share from $6.45 a year earlier. Revenue soared 36 percent to $6.92 billion from $5.09 billion a year ago. Net income increased 36 percent to $2.51 million, or $7.68 a share.