Stocks rose in afternoon trading Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. is on track for long-term economic growth.

Bernanke left open the possibility of more action by the Fed if another recession looks likely. But he announced no new economic stimulus measures during his speech at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Indexes fell sharply as the speech was released and it became clear that Bernanke was not promising new stimulus measures. The Dow Jones industrial average was down about 78 points shortly before the speech started and slumped as many as 220 points shortly after Bernanke started speaking. It recovered those losses within an hour. By late morning major market indexes were all trading higher.

Many traders were disappointed that the Fed chairman didn't offer steps to shore up the fragile economic recovery. Optimism had been building on Wall Street this week that Bernanke might announce some kind of action. Bernanke was speaking at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., the same event where he announced plans for a bond-buying program a year ago.