Stocks Climb after Yellen Wraps Testimony

U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 striking new highs, as traders bet Fed chief Janet Yellen may hold off on hiking interest rates until October. At close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 92.35 points, or 0.51%, to 18,209.19. The S&P 500 was up 5.82 points, or 0.28%, to 2,115.48. The Nasdaq Composite gained 7.15 points, or 0.14%, to
4,968.12.

Janet Yellen stuck to her previous language of being data-dependent when it comes to deciding on the timing and the pace of raising interest rates. She pointed that the Fed needed confidence to see that the inflation rate is rising toward the 2% target while the labor market still has room for improvement.

Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) reported a 4.7 percent drop in quarterly revenue, hurt mainly by weak demand from corporate customers for its services. The company’s net income fell to $1.37 billion, or 73 cents per share, in the first quarter ended Jan. 31, from $1.43 billion, or 74 cents per share, a year earlier.

Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. (DWA) on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $263.2 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.