Afternoon Markets: Upbeat Bernanke boosts Dow

The Dow Jones hit a fresh year-high this morning after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the US economy is nearing recovery.

Shortly after opening, the index had climbed more than 58 points, or 0.61%, to 9,564.15. Bank of America Corp gained 1.55% to $17.73 after electing former Morgan Stanley executive Robert Scully to the newly-replenished board, which has suffered a plethora of resignations since April. American Express Inc added 2.89% to $33.8, while Caterpillar is up 3.38% to $48.9. However, Kraft Foods Inc and McDonald's Corp shed 0.94% to $28.54 and 0.23% to $56.13 respectively. In the UK, the FTSE pulled back from the 4,900 mark but is still up more than 31 points, or 0.65%, to 4,882.53. Th...