NEW YORK — Stocks rose to another high for the year Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said central- bank officials expect the economy to continue recovering as the jobs market strengthens.
The Russell 2000, a benchmark index of small stocks, hit a record. The Standard & Poor’s 500 has doubled from its low reached during the financial crisis.
Bernanke spoke after Fed officials held a two-day policy meeting.
The Fed also announced that its $600 billion bond-buying program would end as scheduled in June. The Fed repeated its promise to keep interest rates low for “an extended period.”
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 95.59 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 12,690.96. The Dow was already up before Bernanke’s appearance and rose another 50 points after the Fed chairman spoke. The last time the Dow was this high was in May 2008.
The S&P rose 8.42, or 0.6 percent, to 1,355.66. That was its highest price since June 2008.
The index has doubled from its closing level March 9, 2009, when it hit a 12-year low during the financial crisis. It’s still 13 percent below the record high of 1,565 it reached in October 2007.
The Nasdaq composite rose 22.34, or 0.8 percent, to 2,869.88.
The Russell surpassed its record high of 855.77 reached in July 2007. It closed up 5.27, or 0.6 percent, to 858.31.
The economy’s rapid rebound from the recession has caused small stocks to surge. Companies in the S&P 500 index have record amounts of cash on their balance sheets, leading to the widespread belief that smaller companies are natural targets for corporate acquisitions.
“The fact is that until we go into a sustained soft patch in the economy, the small (companies) are going to continue to outperform,” said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial.
