FOXNews.com: Stocks rebound on Bernanke testimony, strong data

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Stocks rebound on Bernanke testimony, strong data Feb 26th 2013, 16:19 FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here The markets posted solid gains Tuesday as traders responded to dovish testimony from Fed chief Bernanke and much stronger-than-expected housing and consumer confidence data. Today's Markets As of 11:04 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62.3 points, or 0.49%, to 13852, the S&P 500 climbed 1.9 points, or 0.12%, to 1490 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.88 points, or 0.03%, to 3117. In prepared remarks, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress the benefits of highly-accommodative monetary policy clearly outweigh the potential risks, helping temper worries the Fed could end quantitative easing early.  "In the current economic environment, the benefits of asset purchases, and of policy accommodation more generally, are clear," he said.  Bernanke also said the job market remains weak, although the economic recovery appears to have picked up again early this year after taking a hit in the final quarter of 2012.  In addition to Bernanke's testimony, three economic reports greatly exceeded Wall Street's expectations.  Sales of new single-family homes jumped 15.6% in January from December -- the largest increase since April 1993 -- to a 437,000-unit annualized rate. The metric outpaced estimates of a 381,000-unit rate and marked the highest pace since July 2008. The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas shows home prices rose 0.2% on a non-seasonally adjusted basis in December, compared with the 0.2% fall economists were expecting. Prices were up 6.8% from a year ago, the biggest year-on-year increase since July 2006. The Conference Board's gauge of U.S. consumer confidence rose to 69.6 in February from January, topping economists' estimates of 61 and marking the highest reading since November. Separate data due at 10:00 a.m. ET are expected to show sales of new, single-family homes having jumped to an annualized rate of 381,000 units in January from 369,000 the month before.  At the same time, traders will get data on consumer confidence. The Conference Board's gauge is expected to have climbed to 62 in February from 58.6 in January. Analysts will be looking to see how the payroll tax hike and high gasoline prices impacted consumers' current and future economic outlook. After months on the back burner, European worries came hurdling back into the picture Monday after elections in Italy ended in a stalemate. The country's Senate now stands divided -- not a single party controls the upper house. That means multiple parties will have to come together and form a coalition government, or a fresh round of elections may need to be called.  More importantly, perhaps, the sudden lurch higher in political instability threatens to once again ignite concerns about the embattled 17-member currency bloc. Tina Fordham, an analyst covering the subject for Citigroup, called the election the "pivotal political event" for the eurozone this year, and warned that the result "extends political risk."  The broad S&P 500 took its biggest fall since November on the news Monday, while European markets have come under heavy pressure. Of particular concern is Italian and Spanish borrowing costs -- both of which have spiked in the secondary markets.  "We expect risky assets to remain under pressure until the picture in Italy becomes clearer," analysts at Barclays warned in a note to clients. The investment bank said safe havens like U.S. Treasury bonds, German bunds and the dollar should benefit.  On the corporate front, Home Depot (HD) posted quarterly results that topped expectations on the top and bottom lines. Shares of the Dow component jumped more than 2%. Oil futures were under pressure on the back of weakness in European markets. The benchmark U.S. contract dropped 71 cents, or 0.76%, to $92.40 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline sold off by 1.9% to $3.00 a gallon. In metals, gold rose $7.10, or 0.45%, to $1,594 a troy ounce.  Foreign Markets The Euro Stoxx 50 plummeted 2.5% to 2586, the English FTSE 100 sold off by 1.3% to 6273 and the German DAX tumbled 1.8% to 7637.  In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 plunged 2.3% to 11399 and the Chinese Hang Seng dropped 1.3% to 22520.

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