US Markets

U.S. stocks closed higher in whipsawed trading Friday as investors applauded Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's stern remarks about the struggling economy and his decision to leave the door open for additional accommodative measures.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 134.72 points, or 1.2%, to 11284.54, snapping a four-week losing streak. It rose four out of five days this week. The blue-chip index staged a big reversal after opening lower and dropping as much as 221 points right after Bernanke's comments were released. Stocks pared losses throughout the morning and turned higher for much of the session.

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At one point, the Dow was up 177 points before trimming those gains in the final trading hour. Investors initially interpreted Bernanke's remarks negatively, especially since the Fed chief stopped short of disclosing fresh monetary stimulus. Some were hoping Bernanke would reveal in Jackson Hole, Wyo., a full-fledged third bond-buying program, commonly known as quantitative easing, or QE3. But the market eventually found comfort that Bernanke signaled he is ready to provide further support to a persistently weak economy.

Market participants said much of Friday's bullish tone was related to the stern comments Bernanke made at the end of his speech. He urged fiscal policy makers to take the appropriate measures to jump-start the economy. The Dow jumped 4.3% during the week, its biggest gain since the week ended July 1. The surge came after it shed 15% throughout the previous four weeks.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 17.53 points, or 1.5%, to 1176.80, led higher by technology and consumer-discretionary stocks. It ended the week up 4.7%. The Nasdaq Composite surged 60.22 points, or 2.5%, to 2479.85. The technology-heavy index notched a 5.9% weekly gain. Stock-trading volume, which has been inordinately heavy this month during the market's wild daily gyrations, was well below average Friday. About 4.26 billion shares changed hands in New York Stock Exchange composite volume, well under this month's average of 5.94 billion.

Sunday U.S. financial exchanges confirmed a joint plan to open markets for a normal day of trading Monday, after the worst of Tropical Storm Irene swept past New York City. NYSE Euronext (NYX), Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ), BATS Global Markets and Direct Edge, together overseeing 72% of U.S. stock trade and about 51% of options, said in separate statements Sunday that the decision was made in unison and with the approval of market regulators.

CME Group also said its markets would open as planned. Irene was moving through Connecticut and western Massachusetts Sunday afternoon. The storm continued to weaken, with maximum sustained winds at 60 miles an hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. More than a million homes and businesses along the U.S. east coast had lost power in the wake of the storm.

European Markets

European stock markets ended lower Friday as continued uncertainty over Greece's bailout hit bank stocks hard, with trading becoming choppier late in the session as investors reacted to a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who put off any talk of further stimulus measures until next month.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.7% to end at 225.52, but gained 1.1% for the week. The pan-European index, which had been trading down 1.9% ahead of Bernanke's speech, initially extended its fall to as much as 2.7% as the Fed chairman spoke, before paring losses. Banks were the worst performers in Europe, especially such Greek lenders as National Bank of Greece, which declined 7.6%, Alpha Bank, down 5%, and Piraeus Bank, down 6.7%.

The ASE Composite fell 1% to 880.08, as worries over the Greek bailout continued. Athens warned that it may opt out of a debt-swap deal if not enough bond holders sign up. That warning came on top of a spat over possible collateral for countries participating in the bailout. Also Friday, Germany's DAX 30 index dropped 0.8% to close at 5,537.48, led by banking and insurance stocks. Shares of Commerzbank AG and reinsurer Munich RE each dropped 2.7%.

City Index's Raymond said the DAX has become one of the most volatile European indexes in recent weeks. That could be in part because short-selling bans in other countries mean traders have moved their attention to the DAX as a proxy for other euro-zone markets. In other European markets, shares of Peugeot trimmed earlier losses but still ended down 0.6% in Paris after UBS downgraded the stock to neutral from buy.

Financial stocks were also heavy fallers in Paris, including a 4.5% drop for Natixis. The CAC 40 index shed 1% to close at 3,087.64. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index settled 0.1% lower at 5,126.90, as Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC slumped 5.2%.

Asian Markets

Asian markets ended mixed Friday, as cautious investors were unwilling to make bold moves before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech later in the global day. Indexes swung between positive and negative territory during the session, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finishing down 0.9% at 19582.88 and China's Shanghai Composite index slipping 0.1% to 2612.19. Stocks in Singapore also finished lower, while the Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index fell 1.8% to 15,848.83 its lowest level since Feb. 5, 2010.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.8% to 1778.95, Taiwan's Taiex added 0.5% to 7445.10 and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.3% to 8797.78 after each changed direction a few times. Despite the day's performance, most regional indexes ended the week with gains. China's Shanghai Composite rose more than 3%, while the Kospi and S&P/ASX 200 climbed 2% and 2.4%, respectively. The day's choppy moves for the broader stock indexes concealed some larger changes for shares of individual firms. In Hong Kong, strong first-half earnings boosted Industrial & Commercial Bank of China by 1.4%. Energy major PetroChina lost 3.6% and shipping firm China Cosco Holdings dropped 1% in Hong Kong after reporting earnings that came in below expectations.

In Taipei, Apple suppliers Catcher Technology and Radiant Opto-Electronics climbed 2.8% and 4.4%, respectively, on hopes their business wouldn't be affected by the resignation of Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs. Several Japanese shares posted modest gains despite sharp overnight losses on Wall Street, amid domestic political developments as Prime Minister Naoto Kan confirmed his resignation, paving the way for a new head of government. Sony added 0.7% and Mazda Motor rose 1.3%, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 0.6%.

Commodities

Base metals closed the day in positive territory on the London Metal Exchange Friday, having tracked equities higher following a closely eyed speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at an annual symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyo., late in the trading session.

At the close, LME three-month copper was 0.5% higher at $9,075 a metric ton, after touching a three-week high at $9,139/ton. Nickel gained the most, ending the day at $21,450/ton, up 3.0% on the previous session's close. Crude oil futures ended little changed Friday, pausing after broad swings to brace for Hurricane Irene and to puzzle out the near-term outlook for U.S. economy.

Prices whipsawed along with the dollar and equities after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke didn't signal immediate plans to shock the nation's economy with another round of stimulus programs. After ducking $83 a barrel, crude futures returned to the familiar harbor of $85 a barrel to ride out the hurricane and the stormy economic uncertainty. Light, sweet crude oil for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 7 cents higher at $85.37 a barrel. Crude gained 3.6% from a week earlier, the biggest weekly rise since July 1. ICE Brent crude oil settled 74 cents higher at $111.36 a barrel.

Gold ended 2% higher on demand for a store of value after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave markets no hints that another liquidity injection was imminent. Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, settled up $34.10, or 1.9%, at $1,797.30 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices whipsawed throughout Bernanke's speech, slumping $20 to graze session lows then recovering to touch a high of $1,800.