Stocks Ended Mostly Lower after Bernanke Speech

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the extraordinary measures undertaken by the central bank to boost the economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 28.64 points, or 0.17%, to end at 16,469.99, leaving it down 0.05% for the week. The S&P 500 slipped 0.61 point, or 0.03%, to 1,831.37, leaving it with a weekly decline of 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 11.16
points, or 0.27%, to 4,131.91, posting a weekly loss of 0.6%.

The Federal Reserve is no less committed to highly accommodative policy now that is has trimmed its bond-buying stimulus, Ben Bernanke said on Friday in what could be his last speech as Fed chairman. Bernanke, who steps down as head of the U.S. central bank at month’s end, gave an upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy in coming quarters.

The snowstorm that pounded the Midwest and Northeast this week did not just delay store openings. It could end up hurting retailers’ fourth-quarter sales by 1%, according to Citigroup analyst Oliver Chen.

Gold rose to a two-week high on Friday after prices plunged to a six-month low. U.S. gold futures for February delivery rose 0.4 percent to $1,230.80 an ounce.