NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks rose after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke prepared to tell a Senate panel on Wednesday the economy should grow modestly this year despite a drag from the housing slowdown and that he expects inflation will continue to ease.

Mr. Bernanke’s prepared remarks pleased investors who are hoping the central bank would lower short-term interest rates, or at least leave them alone. The Fed has left rates unchanged at its last five meetings, saying inflation would need to give off further signs of cooling before rates could come down.

Beyond Mr. Bernanke’s testimony, President Bush scheduled a press conference later Wednesday morning. Wall Street also had a mix of important economic and earnings news vying for attention. The Commerce Department said retail sales were essentially flat in January amid slumping automobile sales; it was the weakest showing in three months and below what Wall Street had forecast.

Coca-Cola Co. turned in a lower profit and DaimlerChrysler AG pleased investors by saying about 13,000 Chrysler workers would lose their jobs under a plan to restore the U.S. operations’ profitability by next year.

The flurry of news follows a day in which stocks showed a sharp climb – the Dow Jones industrial average gained 102 points – after news that two companies were vying for aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. helped drive a notion that Wall Street would see an uptick in acquisition activity.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 57.44, or 0.45 percent, at 12,712.29. Following release of Bernanke’s remarks the Dow set a new intraday high of 12,719.74, eclipsing a high of 12,700.28 set Feb. 7.

Broader stock indicators were also higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 9.07, or 0.63 percent, at 1,453.33 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 24.01, or 0.98 percent, to 2,483.89.

Bonds rose sharply following Bernanke’s testimony, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.76 percent from 4.81 percent late Tuesday. The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Light, sweet crude oil fell 41 cents to $58.65 on the New York Mercantile Exchange after weekly domestic inventory data showed stores of distillates such as home heating oil fell by less than analysts had been expecting. A brush of cold weather had led forecasters to expect a larger draw.

In corporate news, Coca-Cola’s fourth-quarter profit fell 22 percent despite higher sales. Excluding one-time items, the world’s largest beverage maker’s profit topped Wall Street’s forecast. Coca-Cola was off 42 cents at $47.79.

DaimlerChrysler rose $2.65, or 4.1 percent, to $67.10 after announcing its cost-cutting plan.

Deere & Co. rose $7.05, or 6.9 percent, to $109.72 after the maker of farm equipment said profits increased as sales overseas made up for declines in the U.S. and Canada.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 4.27, or 0.53 percent, to 816.80.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.74 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.34 percent, Germany’s DAX index was up 0.74 percent, and France’s CAC-40 was up 0.50 percent.

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