NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks opened in record territory Thursday, bouncing back from the previous day’s pullback as investors welcomed comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
The Dow Jones industrial average rallied nearly 151 points, or 1%, topping 15,456 shortly after the opening bell. That put the blue-chip average above the record closing high it hit in May.
The S&P 500 rose more than 1%, also topping its record closing high. The Nasdaq jumped 1.1%,.
European markets also gained around 1% in midday trading, and major Asian markets ended with big gains.
The global rise in equities is being attributed to comments late Wednesday by Bernanke, who said monetary policy would remain “highly accommodative” for the foreseeable future.
Recent moves and comments by global central banks have helped boost equities as they continue to pump more money into the system in a bid to get the economy growing.
Investors clearly viewed Bernanke’s comments as good news for the markets. David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Markets in London, said the comments were not “fantastically bullish,” but it may have been the lack of bad news that truly motivated the rally.
