NEW YORK — U.S. stocks advanced Friday, rebounding following the Standard & Poor’s 500 index’s biggest drop since November 2011 after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank may phase out stimulus. NEW YORK — U.S. stocks advanced
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks advanced Friday, rebounding following the Standard & Poor’s 500 index’s biggest drop since November 2011 after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank may phase out stimulus.
Consumer-staples, utility and health care shares rose the most out of 10 S&P 500 groups, while technology and raw-material companies retreated. Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola gained at least 1.6 percent, pacing advances among the largest U.S. companies. Oracle tumbled 9.3 percent after reporting a second straight quarter of sales that missed estimates.
The S&P 500 ended Friday’s regular trading up 0.3 percent to 1,592.43 in New York, after fluctuating between gains and losses during the day. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 41.08 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,799.40. About 10.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, the highest since October 2011, as futures and options contracts expire today in a process known as quadruple witching that can lead to unpredictable price swings.
The S&P 500 sank 2.5 percent Thursday as global equities tumbled after the Fed indicated Wednesday it may start paring stimulus measures as soon as September. The benchmark index has declined 4.6 percent since its May 21 high amid speculation the Fed will scale back quantitative easing. Central bank stimulus has helped fuel a rally in stocks worldwide and lifted the S&P 500 as much as 147 percent from its bear-market low in 2009.
Economists have increased forecasts the Fed will trim its monthly bond purchases to $65 billion in September and end buying in June 2014. In a Bloomberg survey of 54 economists conducted June 19-20, 44 percent saw a tapering in September, up from 27 percent in aJune 4-5 survey.
Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Friday the central bank “inappropriately timed” its decision to lay out a plan to reduce the pace of bond purchases.
“A more prudent approach would be to wait for tangible signs that the economy was strengthening and that inflation was on a path to return toward target before making such an announcement,” Bullard said.
