U.S. stocks finished lower on Tuesday, after comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman Ben Bernanke left investors hoping that the central bank would provide additional economic stimulus. In world markets, European stocks ended higher, led by the DAX in Germany rising 0.6 percent. Asian markets ended mixed, as the Nikkei in Japan rose 0.7 percent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.4 percent. In U.S. economic news, Bernanke reiterated that the central bank's $600 billion stimulus will end later this month. He also said that interest rates are likely to remain "exceptionally low" for an extended period, and did not dismiss the idea of further easing. Meanwhile, U.S. jobs openings fell in April as private-sector hiring slowed, the Labor Department reported. There were 3.97 million open positions in April, down from 4.07 million in March, according to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The hiring rate fell to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent. In U.S. Company news, Ford Motors plans to increase worldwide production 50 percent by 2015, to 8 million vehicles a year. Ford plans to increase production on small vehicles and focus on emerging markets. Shares of the automaker rose about 1 percent. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro but rose versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for July delivery fell 75 cents to $98.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures fell $3.80 to $1,543.20 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19.15, or 0.2 percent, to 12,070.81. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.23, or 0.1 percent, to 1,284.94. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 1.0, or 0.04 percent, to 2,701.56.
