U.S. Markets

U.S. stocks indexes surged to fresh multi year highs after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank would continue to reinvest proceeds from maturing securities and added that there was no specific time frame to begin tightening interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average leapt 95.59 points, or 0.76%, to 12690.96, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.62% to 1355.66.

[Sign up here to get this report delivered to your inbox daily]

The Nasdaq Composite added 0.78% to 2869.88. The small-capitalization Russell 2000 stock index closed at an all time high, rising 0.6% to 858. Investors said the Fed chairman's remarks revealed the goal of keeping policy easing steady and interest rates accommodative.

Stocks spent the morning in a holding pattern until the Federal Reserve said midday that it would end its $600 billion program of bond buying, known as quantitative easing, on schedule at the end of June. The central bank also signaled that it was in no rush to raise interest rates. Stocks pushed higher.

European Markets

European stock markets pushed higher in an action-packed Wednesday for investors, with corporate results driving shares of Ericsson AB, Volkswagen AG and Renault SA, while Nokia Corp. gained on news of job cuts. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.5% to 282.68. Shares of Ericsson soared over 10% after the network-equipment maker said net income jumped to SEK4.1 billion, more than three times that of a year ago, while sales rose 17%.

Shares of Finnish mobile-handset maker Nokia Corp. jumped 3.1% after the company said it will axe 4,000 jobs and transfer its Symbian operations to Accenture. Autos were also in focus for Europe, helping drive gains for both the German DAX 30 index, which rose 0.8% to 7,415.77, and France's CAC 40 index, up 0.8% to 4,077.47.

[Sign up here to get this report delivered to your inbox daily]

In Frankfurt, Volkswagen surged nearly 5% after the automaker said that sales revenue rose 30% in the first quarter and that two million vehicles were sold in a single quarter for the first time ever. Shares of Daimler AG rose 2.3% and BMW AG added 1.6%.

In Paris, Renault SA surged 4.2% after results late Tuesday showed a 15% increase in first-quarter revenue.

In London, the FTSE 100 index shook off earlier losses to gain 0.2% to 6,081.08. Shares of BP PLC rose 0.8% after the oil major posted a 17% rise in first-quarter net profit, though production fell 11% after it sold assets to help pay for costs associated with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year.

Asian Markets

Asian stocks ended mixed Wednesday, with investors' mood shifting to caution ahead of a U.S. decision on monetary policy. News of higher than expected inflation in Australia, a Standard & Poor's warning on Japan's debt and fear of further tightening by China were also factors.

China's main stock indexes ended lower, undoing an earlier advance, amid concern the next round of tightening measures may be announced ahead of the coming Labor Day long weekend. People's Bank of China policy changes tend to come on major holidays and on weekends.

[Sign up here to get this report delivered to your inbox daily]

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 1.4% to 9691.84, but the Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.5% lower at 2925.41, its lowest close in five weeks, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished down 0.5% at 23892.84. South Korea's Kospi Composite ended little changed at 2206.70.

In Japan, the market shrugged off S&P's lowering of its long-term rating on the country's debt to negative from stable; the ratings firm cited the risk of a downgrade if last month's earthquake causes the fiscal situation to deteriorate substantially more than expected. Canon rose 7% even as it posted a decline in profit for the first quarter and lowered its earnings outlook for the full year. Analysts were bullish on its core earnings and outlook.

Hong Kong property stocks finished mixed, with real estate-developers' shares easing from highs after a government land auction. Cheung Kong Holdings fell 1% and Hang Lung Properties ended little changed. China property stocks were weaker after the cabinet criticized some local governments for ineffective price controls, according to reports. China Overseas fell 1.5%.

Base Metals

Copper on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday down 2.3%, as base metals closed the open outcry session lower ahead of a much-anticipated press conference by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Three-month copper on the exchange finished the day at $9,321 a metric ton, down $223 on Tuesday's PM kerb after cautious investors edged away from risk assets, leaving a number of the industrial commodities with few takers.

Crude oil futures prices settled higher Wednesday spurred by a sharp decline in gasoline inventories and by expectations that Federal Reserve policy will keep the dollar weak. Light, sweet crude oil futures for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 55 cents higher at $112.76 a barrel.

Crude ended just 3 cents below the April 8 settlement of $112.79 a barrel, which was the highest since Sept. 22, 2008. ICE Brent crude for June settled 99 cents higher, at $125.13 a barrel.

Gold futures extended their record highs Wednesday as comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reinforced the notion that the central bank is in no hurry to raise interest rates even after it telegraphed the end of its bond-buying program.

The most-actively traded gold contract, for June delivery, reached an intraday record $1,527.70 in electronic trading during the Fed chairman's first ever post-meeting press conference. In his remarks, Bernanke said Fed officials don't have a specific timeframe for beginning to tighten U.S. monetary policy. The June gold contract rose $13.60, or 0.9%, to settle at a record $1,517.10 a troy ounce. The nearby contract for April delivery settled at a record $1,516.70, up $13.70, or 0.9%.

More from IBT Markets:
Newsletter: To receive Global Markets update, sign up here