US Stocks drop after Bernanke comments (ext)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks fell Thursday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank may not be as willing to move on further stimulus as previously thought.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) slipped 54 points, or 0.4%, to end at 12,437. The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 9 points, or 0.7%, to 1,309; and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) lost 34 points, or 1.2%, to 2,763.

Bernanke, in his comments to the Senate Banking Committee Thursday, said the central bank is "not prepared at this point to take further action," regarding further monetary stimulus.

That's a step back from previous comments Bernanke made on Wednesday, when he said the Fed could step in to support the economy through another round of quantitative easing, if the U.S. economy would need it.

"The market was looking for any economic life preserver it can get, and thought it got it through Bernanke, but that appeared to be just a mirage," said Burt White, chief investment officer with LPL financial. "He's talking more about inflationary pressures and the debt ceiling, and it's clear that the Fed isn't going to be there as may have been previously indicated."

The Labor Department said jobless claims fell 22,000 to 405,000 in the latest week. Economists were expecting weekly claims to decrease to 410,000.

The producer price index -- a reading of wholesale inflation -- fell 0.4% in June, after rising 0.2% the prior month. Economists were expecting the measure to have fallen 0.2%.

June retail sales rose 0.1%, according to the Commerce Department. Sales were expected to have fallen 0.2% last month.

The dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen, British pound and the euro.

Oil for August delivery sank $2.80 to $95.21 a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery rose $3.80 to settle at a record high of $1,589.30 an ounce. Earlier in the trading session, gold set a new intraday record of $1,594.90.