US STOCKS jump in anticipating Fed

U.S. stocks climbed sharply on Tuesday as the market voiced confidence that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would allay worries about the central bank’s monetary policy.

Few market participants think the Fed could announce a change in its monthly asset purchases of $85 billion at this meeting, but the language used in the monetary policy statement about an eventual slowing could be important for the dollar.

A Monday afternoon article in the Financial Times said Bernanke was likely to imply the Fed is close to slowing its monthly asset purchases, depending on economic figures.

Data released Tuesday showed inflation remained benign. U.S. consumer prices rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in May, compared with expectations of a 0.2% increase. But construction of new homes in the U.S. rose 6.8% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 914,000, less than economists had expected.

Hormel Foods  shares slid 4.1%, among the worst decliners in the S&P 500 . The company on Tuesday cut its fiscal 2013 per-share earnings outlook to a range of $1.88 to $1.96, from $1.93 to $2.03, citing weak results in its pork segment and sales in its refrigerated foods unit.

Sony (SNE) shares climbed 3.5% after Dan Loeb's Third Point hedge fund increased its stake and is upping the pressure on the company to agree a partial spin-off of its entertainment business.

Nokia (NOK) shares rose 3.52% after a report in the Financial Times raised speculation about a potential merger with China's Huawei.

Meanwhile, shares of BlackBerry (BBRY) rose 4.13% on rumors about a deal with Lenovo (LNVGF)

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