Market Hustle: U.S. Stocks Mixed on Yellen Assurances, China Data

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stocks were mixed Wednesday, taking a breather after dovish statements on monetary policy from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen and better-than-expected data from China fueled a rally earlier in the session.
The S&P 500 was gaining 0.06% to 1,820.86 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.10% to 15,979.53. The Nasdaq was 0.28% higher at 4,202.91. U.S. stock indices closed higher for the fourth consecutive session Tuesday as Yellen underscored in her testimony before the House Financial Services Committee that the central bank will continue to scale back its economic stimulus program at a guarded pace. She reminded investors that the window for raising the short-term fed funds rate remains firmly shuttered. Also fueling positive sentiment was the House's vote to raise the government debt ceiling until March 2015. International markets advanced after Yellen's appearance. The FTSE 100 in the U.K. on Wednesday was up 0.17%, the DAX in Germany was up 1.09%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng rose 1.47%, and the Nikkei 225 in Japan increased 0.56%. Caterpillar (CAT) was the top gainer in the Dow, up 1.6%, while Trip Advisor (TRIP) led gains in the S&P 500, adding 6.9% after it posted Tuesday a 26% rise in quarterly revenue, helped by a jump in display-based advertising. Bank of England officials now forecast that the U.K. economy will grow by 3.4% this year, faster than the 2.8% forecast in November. The BOE also said it expects upcoming data to show the unemployment rate in the U.K. fell to 7% in January. China's exports unexpectedly increased 10.6% in January, assuaging some concerns about the health of emerging market economies. St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said the central bank would probably have to return to more "traditional" policy-making and "make more qualitative judgments" on when to tighten policy. Bullard was speaking at a panel in New York on Wednesday. The U.S. Treasury budget is due at 2 p.m. EST with a deficit of $30.8 billion expected for January.  Fourteen companies in the S&P 500 are expected to report earnings on Wednesday. Cisco (CSCO) is expected by analysts to report fiscal second-quarter earnings of 46 cents a share on revenue of $11.03 billion. Zillow (Z), the real estate Web site, is forecast to report fourth-quarter earnings of 7 cents a share. Whole Foods Market (WFM) is expected by Wall Street to report fiscal first-quarter earnings of 44 cents a share on revenue of $4.29 billion.  -- Written by Jane Searle in New York

Stock quotes in this article: DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC, CSCO, WFM, Z, CAT, TRIP