Financial Market News

Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Wednesday that the U.S. job market remains weak and that it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to slow its extraordinary stimulus programs.

In an effort to slow the pace of climate change, students at more than 200 colleges are asking their schools to stop investing in fossil fuel companies.

The U.S. dollar rallied on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed could begin tapering its bond-buying program in the "next few meetings." , a gauge of the greenback's movement against six other major currencies, rose to 84.251 from 83.877 late Tuesday in North America.

In this Aug. 11, 2010 photo, specialist John Urbanowicz, left, talks with a colleague on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Stocks are moving higher Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said it was too soon for the central bank to pull back on its economic stimulus programs.

The Dow had surged more than 100 points earlier in the day as investors welcomed comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, who told lawmakers that withdrawing monetary stimulus prematurely could derail the economic recovery.

Dow component Hewlett-Packard Co. and Target Corp. are among the high-profile companies reporting quarterly results on Wednesday.

Asian stock markets were mostly higher Wednesday after investor confidence was boosted by a Federal Reserve official's comments that the U.S. central bank should stick with its super-easy monetary policy.

Tuesday stocks closed higher as investors banked on continued policy support from the Federal Reserve.

A rare $10 bill from 1929 marked with the name of the Texas town of West is set to be auctioned off to benefit the families of victims of the deadly fertilizer plant explosion there.

The price of oil fell Tuesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's latest views on the U.S. economy.

Two big retailers also topped Wall Street expectations for the most recent quarter.

Investors are eager to hear what he has to say about the central bank's stimulus policies, which have been a big driver of the stock rally.

Sprint Nextel Corp said its Japanese suitor SoftBank Corp granted it a waiver allowing it to consider a $25.5 billion rival bid by Dish Network Corp, as pressure mounts on SoftBank to sweeten its offer for the No.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher speaks about the concept of breaking up 'too big to fail' banks to a breakout group at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, March 16, 2013.

Australian stocks declined, and Hong Kong equities pulled back from a three-day winning run on Tuesday, weighed by overnight losses on Wall Street and uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy.

Sure, there are plenty of forces pushing stocks higher - record corporate earnings, small investors finally buying again, signs the U.S. economy may be strengthening, central banks flooding the financial system with money.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.4 percent to 15,352.84 as evidence of a steady economic recovery in the U.S. helped push Asian stock markets higher Monday.

A pair of corporate mergers failed to boost the broader market Monday as investors await comments from Federal Reserve officials later in the week.

The Russell 2000, an index of small-company stocks, rose above 1,000 for the first time.