Last updated at 11:41 a.m. ET

U.S. stocks went on a wild ride after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke released a much-anticipated policy speech. While he didn't commit to any stimulus, he said he is open to more stimulus. Meanwhile, data showed Chicago PMI decelerated and consumer sentiment and factory orders increased. European shares and commodities rose as well.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) was up 129 points at 13,130. The S&P 500 ($INX) was up 11 points at 1,411. The Nasdaq Composite ($COMPX) was up 23 points at 3,072.

After a couple of weeks of speculation and low activity in the market, Bernanke finally addressed a symposium of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

In his speech, Bernanke said he is open to using more quantitative easing but did not commit to taking action. The Fed chief said that "stagnation of the labor market in particular is a grave concern" and called the current growth "tepid." "The economy," he said, "needs more policy support than usual at this stage of the cycle."

U.S. markets closed sharply lower Thursday, with the Dow barely finishing above 13,000 and the S&P 500 closing just below 1,400. The Nasdaq was down 1%.

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ECB may announce stimulus next week
European stocks extended their gains around midday Friday after four days of losses ahead of Jackson Hole, despite data showing the region's unemployment rate remained at 11.3% in July, the highest level on record.

Also, inflation in the eurozone accelerated to 2.6% in August from 2.4% in July but is expected to slow to 2% by the end of the year -- not high enough to prevent the European Central Bank from implementing any easing measures.

The ECB's monthly policy-setting meeting takes place Sep. 6. Many observers hope ECB President Mario Draghi will shed some light on ECB bond-buying plan that could help lower the cost of borrowing for several eurozone nations. But not everybody supports the plan, most notably the German central bank. The disagreement is so fierce that a news report Friday said Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann has considered resigning.

Asian shares finished mostly lower despite data the Indian economy grew faster than expected but after an unexpectedly negative reading on Japan's industrial production for July.

US data
The Chicago-area purchasing managers index for August decelerated slightly to a reading of 53.0 in August from 53.7 in July. This was in line with Briefing.com's forecast.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 74.3 in August, compared with initial reading of 73.6, showing an improved view of consumers about the U.S. economy. Economists had expect the index to tick up to 74, according to Briefing.com.

New orders for U.S. factory goods rose 2.8% in July, posting the biggest increase since July 2011 and rising for the second time in three months, the Commerce Department reported. The increase was more than the 2% economists expected, according to Briefing.com.

Stocks to watch
Google (GOOG) CEO Larry Page and Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook have been conducting behind-the-scenes talks about a range of intellectual property matters, including the mobile patent disputes between the companies, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.

Facebook (FB) has sunk to new all-time lows after BMO Capital analyst Daniel Salmon slashed his price target on the shares to $15 from $25. Salmon wrote that many advertisers appear to be reducing the amount of money they're spending on the website and predicted that Facebook may have difficulty increasing its revenue by more than 4% in the current quarter, the flyonthewall reported.

SAIC (SAI) rose after the government contractor's announcement that it planned to split into two publicly traded companies.

Splunk (SPLK) rallied after the software maker reported a loss that handily beat estimates and raised its outlook.

Zumiez (ZUMZ) said fiscal-second-quarte​r earnings slipped 19% as expenses increased. The teen-apparel retailer also projected current-quarter earnings below Wall Street estimates.

Zynga (ZNGA) has lost two more executives. That follows the departure of chief creative officer Mike Verdu earlier this week and chief operating officer John Schappert earlier this month.

Amazon.com's (AMZN) latest Kindle Fire e-reader will reportedly have mapping features through a joint venture with Nokia (NOK), according to Reuters. This comes a day after the e-tailer came under hot water for sales figures of its Kindle.