Treasuries retreat as Bernanke keeps QE hope alive, US stocks advance

(April 25th, 2012) Treasuries dropped for the second day following the Federal Open Market committeemeeting in Washington, where Bernanke said the Fed would “be prepared to take additional balance sheet actions … should the economy require additional support.”

The yield on benchmark 10-year notes rose 1 basis points to 1.99 percent, after rising to a high of 2.04 percent earlier in the day. Yield on 30-year bonds, which are most vulnerable to inflation-losses, climbed 2 basis points to 3.15 percent after touching a high of 3.19 percent.

The iShares Barclays 20 Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) dropped 0.60 point, or 0.51 percent, while the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) shaved 0.02 points, or 0.02 percent over Tuesday’s close.

US stocks advanced for the second day Wednesday as investors cheered strong quarterly results from big American corporations including Boeing and Apple, and digested comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke on further QE measures.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) surged 89.16 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,090.72, maintaining its upward momentum fort the second day in a row. Dow-component airplane manufacturer Boeing Co (BA) jumped 5.29 percent after its Q1 profits topped expectations and earnings outlook for 2012 was revised upwards.  However, heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar Inc (CAT) weighed on the Dow as stocks slumped 4.6 percent, its worst day in seven months, after profits came in lower than estimated. 24 of the 30 components gained for the day.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) gained 18.72 points, or 1.4 percent, to 1390.69 with all the 10 industry sectors closing higher, fronted by the tech sector that rose 3.2 percent. .

The NASDAQ Composite Index (COMP) jumped 68.03 points, or 2.3 percent, to 3029.63, its first close above 3000 since last week. Apple (AAPL) soared 8.9 percent, the biggest gain for the day on both indexes, as the world’s biggest company nearly doubled its net profit.

For every stock that slipped, roughly three stocks gained on the NYSE.

Crude futures for June delivery gained 57 cents to settle at $104.12 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery slipped $1.50 to $1,642.30 an ounce.