Dovish Fed Comments, Trade Data Lift Wall Street

FOX Business: The Power to Prosper A speech from a senior Fed official that suggested the central bank is ready to provide more economic stimulus if necessary, and a bigger-than-expected narrowing of the trade gap helped offset a disappointing weekly jobs report. Today's Markets As of 12:30 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 152 points, or 1.2%, to 12958, the S&P 500 climbed 15.7 points, or 1.1%, to 1384 and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 35.9 points, or 1.2%, to 3052. It's been an unusually volatile week on Wall Street. The markets sold off on Monday and Tuesday amid concerns about the U.S. economy and the debt situation in Europe. However, they rebounded to some extent on Wednesday after corporate bellwether Alcoa (AA: 10.18, +0.28, +2.83%) revealed earnings that topped analysts' expectations. Market participants said they were focusing on commentary from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen made after the end of trading on Wednesday. While Fed officials speak fairly frequently, Fed watchers say Yellen's senior position on the central bank's monetary-policy setting board means she has considerable influence on decisions made. Continue reading this article

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