(As of 8:00 am pacific)
The market is rallying this morning as Fed Chairman Ben
Bernanke in a much anticipated speech said he and the Fed are open to using
more quantitative easing if needed to help stimulate the stagnating US
economy. In a volatile morning that saw
the Dow open up 1%, gains were trimmed at the start of Bernanke’s speech then
rallied back to day highs after the Chairman left the door open on more easing. Although specific action has not been taken
just yet, the Chairman’s comments were what the market seemingly was looking
for out of this week. In economic news,
a report on manufacturing out of Chicago, known as the Chicago PMI, fell in
August slightly below estimates. The
gauge which tracks manufacturing activity still remained in slight expansionary
levels. A report on consumer sentiment
rose slightly. European shares were up
on the day as the focus now turns to the European Central Bank’s meeting next
week, where investors expect more action to be taken by the ECB to further
stimulate the euro-zone economy and tackle the debt crisis. Asian markets closed lower ahead of Bernanke’s
speech today, taking a cautious tone in to the weekend. Oil and gold are rising this morning, while
the US dollar is down. Interest rates
are down and volatility, after swinging up in the first hour of trading, is back
down. The market is seeing a bit of a
relief rally today after the prior day’s losses.
