LONDON (ShareCast) - US stocks finished broadly flat on Wednesday in spite of the Federal Reserve revealing new stimulus measures, as Chairman Ben Bernanke warned about the seriousness of the impending 'fiscal cliff'.

The Fed announced that it would reinstate a policy of ‘quantitative easing’ “initially at a pace of $45bn per month". It said it would keep its range of interest rates near zero as long as the unemployment rate remains above 6.5%, near-term inflation stays below 2.5% and longer-term inflation expectations continue to be well anchored.

However, in the subsequent press conference, Bernanke said: “We cannot offset the full impact of the fiscal cliff — it’s just too big." Nevertheless, he did add that he thought the 'cliff' would be averted.

According to analyst Michael Gapen from Barclays Research, there is "little left for the Fed to do at this point in terms of altering its policy stance".

"While there is ongoing uncertainty about the stance of fiscal policy, the FOMC has gone to great lengths in a short time to alter its policy framework completely. Both the timing of future rate increases and the overall amount and duration of purchases will be dependent on evolving economic conditions."

Meanwhile, newsflow surrounding the ‘fiscal cliff’ was mixed today. Optimism that leaders will eventually agree on the budget has been increasing steadily over the past few days following an unscheduled weekend meeting between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner.

However, Boehner said today that their two parties still have “serious differences" on resolving the issue.

In company news, chemical maker DuPont climbed after saying 2012 earnings will come in at the upper end of the company’s forecast and that it will spend as much as $1bn to repurchase shares.

Health insurance group Aetna gained after saying that earnings would grow around 6% next year.

Costco, the largest American warehouse-club chain, rose after announcing quarterly net income of $416m, ahead of last year’s $320m.


S&P 500 - Risers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $90.73 +5.40%
FMC Corp. (FMC) $56.80 +4.78%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $42.65 +4.25%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $37.87 +4.01%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $17.11 +3.82%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $19.21 +3.50%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $56.80 +3.45%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $16.26 +3.44%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $113.46 +3.33%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $49.20 +3.32%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $27.75 -4.41%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $209.69 -3.47%
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $49.00 -3.16%
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (RRD) $9.22 -2.95%
Ecolab Inc. (ECL) $70.51 -2.79%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $68.94 -2.75%
EMC Corp. (EMC) $24.67 -2.57%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $42.38 -2.57%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $63.98 -2.44%
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $150.50 -2.37%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $14.53 +1.89%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $44.30 +1.40%
General Electric Co. (GE) $21.78 +1.26%
American Express Co. (AXP) $57.67 +1.07%
AT&T Inc. (T) $34.49 +1.00%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $10.61 +0.95%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.79 +0.79%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $87.95 +0.71%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $89.45 +0.52%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $49.64 +0.32%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $68.94 -2.75%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $192.95 -0.64%
3M Co. (MMM) $93.12 -0.60%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $37.64 -0.58%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $25.51 -0.51%
Boeing Co. (BA) $75.47 -0.46%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $89.31 -0.35%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.65 -0.35%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $26.04 -0.34%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $27.24 -0.29%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $13.31 +5.63%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $90.73 +5.40%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $56.80 +3.45%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $113.46 +3.33%
Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) $21.01 +2.69%
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) $40.48 +2.64%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $96.09 +2.11%
Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) $2.78 +1.83%
Dollar Tree Stores Inc. (DLTR) $38.65 +1.76%
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $103.13 +1.71%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $27.75 -4.41%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $41.08 -3.11%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $42.38 -2.57%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $63.98 -2.44%
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) $8.48 -1.85%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $18.75 -1.78%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $33.25 -1.77%
BMC Software Inc. (BMC) $40.80 -1.76%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $38.04 -1.53%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $44.64 -1.35%

BC

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