At the close: DJIA: +1.26%, S&P 500: +1.27%, NASDAQ: +1.04%.

On the commodities front, WTI crude (NYSEARCA:USO) wobbled to $92.76 per barrel. Brent fell slightly to $111.85 per barrel. Gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for April delivery, the most active contract, dropped $19.80 to settle at $1,595.70 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures for March declined 32 cents to close at $28.94.

Both precious metals consolidated after a strong two-day bounce, despite the U.S. dollar edging lower. Ben Bernanke delivered a second day of testimony on Capitol Hill for the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report. The Federal Reserve Chairman continued to defend the central bank’s record low interest rates and quantitative easing programs and commented on the state of the economy.

Bernanke’s take is of the of glass-half-full variety, describing the labor market as “improving gradually” though “generally weak.” Some early focus was given to the dual mandate of the Federal Reserve — which states that the FOMC will try to maximize employment and maintain moderate long-term interest rates — and the central bank’s decision to link its policy to these metrics… (Read more.)

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) fell as much as 25.11 percent after reporting fourth-quarter and fiscal 2012 results. Fourth-quarter losses of $0.12 per share came in sharply below expectations for gains of $0.03 per share. CEO Andrew Mason framed the results this way: “Record billings growth this quarter is a clear signal that customers love Groupons. We will continue to invest in growth through 2013 as we see new opportunities to give our customers what they want.”

Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) closed the day up 4.76 percent after New Jersey legalized online gambling. “I am pleased to say that today I signed New Jersey’s Internet Gaming Bill, opening the way for new opportunity to bolster our efforts to continue the revival of Atlantic City, its casinos and entertainment offerings,” wrote Governor Chris Christie in a statement.

The continued sell-off in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) over the last few months may tell a different story, but the company’s investors appeared amenable to most management decisions during its annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday. While the company did not announce any specific decisions related to capital allocation and other itchy issues of the last few days, chief executive Tim Cook did repeat his assertion that the board was in the process of announcing a change. Apparently that was enough for shareholders… (Read more.)

Major retailers J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) Target (NYSE:TGT), Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR), and The TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) reported earnings on Wednesday, and reactions are coming in all over the place. Retail stocks were brought into sharp focus earlier in the month when news got out that Wal-Mart’s (NYSE:WMT) sales were off to a terrible start. Fears that the expiration of the payroll tax would have a material impact on consumer spending spread quickly, but recently-released data and retail earnings have encouraged a more glass-half-full outlook.

Both the ICSC-Goldman and Redbook weekly retail sales report showed healthy year-over-year gains. Year-over-year sales gains were strong for all of February to date, even though week-to-week figures slipped twice. What’s more, consumer confidence spiked for the month, climbing from 58.4 to 69.6.

Don’t Miss: Retailers Versus the Payroll Tax Round 2: Expectations and Confidence.