Stocks dip after Bernanke testimony, talk of Spain bailout

Stocks edged lower on Wall Street after investors heard no hints of further Federal Reserve actions in Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony before Congress.

Europe’s debt crisis continued to rattle financial markets. The Financial Times reported Spain could request a bank bailout Saturday from the European Union.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 44 points, or 0.4%, to 12,417 shortly after the opening bell.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down 5 points, or 0.3%, to 1,311. The Nasdaq was down 7 points, or 0.3%, to 2,824.

Major European markets were down about 0.5%.

The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq had surged more than 2% Wednesday following the European Central Bank’s decision to keep interest rates low to aid the Eurozone’s troubled banks.

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