US stocks turn higher in opening trade ahead of Bernanke testimony

In this Tuesday, July 17, 2012, file photo, Specialists Charles Boeddinghaus, left, and Douglas Johnson, work at their posts on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Renewed hope for more help from the Fed supported markets, as did positive earnings statements from Goldman Sachs, Coca Cola and Yahoo. US earnings statements will remain a focus of attention later. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

NEW YORK—US stocks rebounded from opening losses Wednesday after mixed data on the troubled housing market and as investors awaited Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s second day on Capitol Hill.

In the first 30 minutes of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 17.37 points (0.14 percent) to 12,822.91.

The S&P 500-stock index climbed 3.58 (0.26 percent) to 1,367.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq rose 20.44 (0.70 percent) to 2,930.48.

Fed Chairman Bernanke gave no clear signal that additional stimulus was on the way in his testimony to Senate lawmakers Tuesday, but stocks rallied on hopes that it will materialize.

“The stock gains yesterday were based on the belief that the Fed will eventually pull the trigger and increase credit and liquidity in such a way as to give financial assets a boost. That is a bit of an iffy proposition,” said Dick Green at Briefing.com.

The positive stock action came as Bernanke was about to start testimony at a House of Representatives hearing at 1400 GMT.

The market’s Fed focus was set to continue with the release of its Beige Book report, an anecdotal collection of current economic conditions, scheduled at 1800 GMT.

June housing figures were mixed. Housing starts surged 6.9 percent from May but building permits, a forward-looking indicator, fell 3.7 percent, the Commerce Department reported.

Quarterly earnings reports from Bank of America, Intel and Yahoo! beat Wall Street expectations.

Dow member Intel was up 0.9 percent. The world’s leading semiconductor maker reported second-quarter earnings per share of 54 cents, two cents better than estimates.

Bank of America, another Dow component, fell 1.3 percent after reporting a swing into profit in the second quarter, at $2.5 billion, compared with a year-ago loss of $8.8 billion.

Yahoo! edged down 0.1 percent after reporting profit fell 4.0 percent in the past quarter.

California-based Vivus soared 9.4 percent after winning US regulatory approval for its new anti-obesity drug, Qsymia.

On Tuesday, stocks closed higher in choppy trade, with the Dow up 0.6 percent.

“The market has shown excellent resilience during recent trading, often trending modestly higher through the trading session,” Briefing’s Green noted.

Bond prices rose. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.48 percent from 1.50 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year dipped to 2.58 percent from 2.60 percent.

Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.