Wall Street closing higher

U.S. Stocks closed higher Friday, ending the quiet trading month of August. In U.S. economic news, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Ben Bernanke said in his annual speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming that the central bank would be willing to take whatever action necessary to help the economy. He also defended the Fed's previous two rounds of stimulus measures, saying they created 2 million jobs and supported stock prices. The dollar fell against the euro, the pound, and the yen. Light sweet crude oil for October delivery rose $1.85 to $96.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures gained $30.50 to $1,687.60 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 90.13, or 0.69 percent, to 13,090.84. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 7.1, or 0.51 percent, to 1,406.58. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index moved up 18.25, or 0.60 percent, to 3,066.96.