MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Vie For Fourth Day Of Gains





- U.S. stocks on Monday tentatively grasped a fourth day of gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed may increase U.S.-debt purchases and worries about Europe abated.

Bernanke, in an interview that aired Sunday night on CBS News' "60 Minutes," said the central bank could commit more funds to boost the recovery after last month announcing $600 billion in asset purchases.

Bernanke's "willingness to go to the mat to continue to stimulate the economy, even if it means going out to 2015 -- and it sounds like he is willing to do that -- is certainly bullish for stocks," said Jack Ablin, chief market officer at Harris Private Bank.

Wavering up and down after three days of gains, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was up 3.07 points at 11,385.16, with 15 of its 30 components rising.

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) climbed the most on the Dow, up 2.3%, after Oppenheimer & Co. upgraded from market perform to outperform the maker of computer networking equipment.

Among other blue chips on the rise, shares of Pfizer Inc. (PFE) added 1.1% after the world's biggest pharmaceutical company unexpectedly announced late Sunday that Jeffrey Kindler was retiring as chief executive and chairman. .

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) climbed less than half a point to 1,225.06, with energy up the most and health-care companies the weakest performers among its 10 industry groups.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) added 5.39 points, or 0.2%, to 2,596.85.

For every seven stocks that fell, eight rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where 555 million shares had traded as of 3:20 p.m. Eastern.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil edged up to end at $89.38 a barrel, while gold rose to a record $1,416.10 an ounce.

In Europe, officials were meeting Monday in Brussels on possible steps to stabilize the region and avoid more costly bailouts, as Moody's Investor Service downgraded Hungary's public-debt rating, saying its fiscal policies would be insufficient for the long haul.

Europe's debt crisis, which weighed on stock-index futures before Wall Street's open, often eases late in the day, after European markets close.

"Generally speaking we shrug off a lot of the premarket negativity during the course of the day," said Ablin of the afternoon's reversal.