Stocks trim losses on hopes for Fed action

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks made up much of their morning losses today after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank is prepared to take more steps to stimulate the economy. The pullback left the S&P 500 index down 20 percent from its April peak, a drop that is widely considered the start of a bear market. Indexes opened sharply lower as traders worried that Greece could be edging closer to default. They turned mixed by midday, shortly after Bernanke finished speaking to a Congressional panel, but slipped again in the early afternoon.