Reuters.com - U.S. stocks flat before Bernanke, Fed minutes - Thu July 20, 2006 10:05 AM ET

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U.S. stocks flat before Bernanke, Fed minutes

U.S. stocks flat before Bernanke, Fed minutes

Thu July 20, 2006 10:05 AM ET (Updates to early morning) By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Thursday as caution before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's second round of congressional testimony offset stronger-than-expected profits from companies such as Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Even with mostly favorable earnings, analysts said investors were worried about making huge bets before Bernanke's testimony and the release of Fed minutes from its recent policy meeting. Bernanke is repeating the Fed's semiannual monetary policy report before the House Financial Services Committee. "There are a lot of positive earnings numbers, but people are cautious in front of Bernanke talking. They're also going to be cautious before the FOMC minutes," said Mark Bronzo, managing director at Gartmore Separate Accounts LLC. The market rallied on Wednesday after comments by Bernanke suggested the central bank may be close to ending two years of interest-rate hikes. Weighing on Nasdaq, shares of Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) dropped 4.9 percent to $17.58, a day after the world's largest chip maker posted a sharply lower second-quarter profit. For details, see [ID:nN19295880]. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 17.91 points, or 0.16 percent, at 11,029.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.96 point, or 0.08 percent, at 1,260.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 4.74 points, or 0.23 percent, at 2,075.97. Shares of Apple jumped more than 11 percent to $60.35 after the company said late Wednesday that quarterly profits rose 48 percent, topping analysts' estimates. [ID:nN19294506]. Motorola Inc. (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) shares also advanced after the world's second-biggest cell phone maker said its second-quarter earnings and revenue increased. [ID:nN19286823]. Its shares gained 10.6 percent to $21.27. The minutes from the Fed June 28-29 rate-setting meeting are expected at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT). (Additional reporting by Ellis Mnyandu)

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