US midday: Stocks recover despite Bernanke gloom

US stocks were up just after midday, recovering from an early slump on disappointing comments from the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Ben Bernanke told Congress the Fed was prepared "to promote a stronger economic recovery" but didn't elaborate on how that might be achieved. Investors have taken his words to mean "no stimulus in the near term". There was some good news however; US industrial production increased 0.4% in June, better than the 0.3% gain economists had been forecasting. COMPANIES The eye catching news that Samsung had bought the wireless unit of British computer chip maker, CSR, spelled bad news for US peer Broadcom, which was down 3.5% at 12:35. Goldman Sachs put on 0.8% after it reported better than expected earnings for the first six months of the year. Coca-Cola posted a similar gain after it too beat analyst expectations for second quarter profits. BS S&P 500 - Risers Mattel Inc. (MAT) $34.40 +10.82% Sprint Nxtel Corp. (S) $3.63 +4.91% Avon Products Inc. (AVP) $16.53 +4.36% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $33.73 +4.28% Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $13.76 +4.24% Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) $11.45 +4.19% International Paper Co. (IP) $31.92 +3.97% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $49.74 +3.93% Kohls Corp. (KSS) $49.52 +3.93% Mosaic Company (MOS) $57.50 +3.85% S&P 500 - Fallers Supervalu Inc. (SVU) $2.35 -5.44% State Street Corp. (STT) $41.90 -5.07% MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) $1.96 -4.39% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $37.71 -4.31% Alpha Natural Res (ANR) $6.59 -3.80% First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $14.43 -3.67% Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $29.69 -3.64% Tenet Hlthcre Corp. (THC) $4.89 -2.88% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $12.24 -2.82% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $5.85 -2.50% Dow Jones I.A - Risers Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $49.74 +3.93% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $78.04 +2.03% Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $23.48 +1.49% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $43.92 +1.31% E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $48.11 +1.13% Intel Corp. (INTC) $25.35 +0.90% AT&T Inc. (T) $35.72 +0.86% 3M Co. (MMM) $88.84 +0.84% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $65.33 +0.80% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $29.62 +0.61% Dow Jones I.A - Fallers Home Depot Inc. (HD) $50.69 -1.48% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $34.71 -1.07% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $16.12 -0.43% Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $18.73 -0.43% Boeing Co. (BA) $72.84 -0.18% Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.32 -0.06% United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $73.20 -0.01% Nasdaq 100 - Risers Mattel Inc. (MAT) $34.40 +10.82% Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $28.90 +4.63% Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $30.45 +3.26% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $26.61 +2.19% O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $92.52 +2.13% Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $31.97 +1.85% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $78.63 +1.77% Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $52.78 +1.63% Mylan Inc. (MYL) $22.45 +1.62% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $41.50 +1.59% Nasdaq 100 - Fallers J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $54.25 -6.99% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $37.71 -4.31% First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $14.43 -3.67% Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $29.69 -3.64% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $104.07 -3.06% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $12.24 -2.82% CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $57.57 -2.29% Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $30.78 -1.88% Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $6.88 -1.64% Logitech International S.A. (LOGI) $9.36 -1.47%