Stocks Pared Gains to Mixed Close

U.S. stocks lost much of Thursday’s gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank would review the economy before making a decision on further stimulus. After a 140-point rise, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 12,460.96, up 46.17 points, or 0.37%. Snapping a three-session winning run, the S&P 500 lost 0.14 point, or 0.01%, to end at 1,314.99. The Nasdaq Composite shed 13.70 points, or 0.48%, to 2,831.02.

The Federal Reserve stands ready to act to protect the financial system and the economy in the event that stresses from the European crisis escalate, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.

U.S. consumers increased their debt in April by a seasonally adjusted $6.5 billion, the smallest increase since last October, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday. This is the eighth-straight monthly gain in consumer borrowing. The increase in April was just more than half of the roughly $11 billion gain expected by Wall Street economists.

Best Buy Co. (NYSE:BBY) founder Richard Schulze said he will resign as chairman, effective immediately, in order to explore options for his 20.1% ownership stake. The stock is off 18% this year and slipped 6% to $18.70 in recent trading. Its market value was $6.81 billion as of Wednesday’s close.

Quiksilver Inc. is expected to release quarterly results Thursday evening, and Wall Street expects a slide in earnings but growth in revenue at the sports-clothing and accessories retailer. Quiksilver (NYSE:ZQK)  is forecast to report per-share earnings of 1 cent, down 89% from the second quarter of last year.