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Stocks finished higher in volatile trading on the final day of the month, after Fed Chairman Bernanke reiterated his promise that the central bank stands ready to act and following some

encouraging European headlines. All three major averages also logged their first August gains since 2009. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 90.31 points to close at 13,090.84, led by

Intel . _(READ MORE: )_ The S&P 500 climbed 7.10 points to finish at 1,406.47 and the Nasdaq advanced 18.25 points to end at 3,066.96. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the

best gauge of fear in the market, ended below 18. “Markets at least like the idea that he’s teasing us with the idea that the door is still open,” said Todd Schoenberger, managing principal

of The BlackBay Group. “But buyer beware—this is the Bernanke bubble. They’ll likely continue with the same monitoring approach [at the next policy meeting] and markets are going to be

disappointed.” In his much-anticipated speech from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, did not explicitly signal any monetary easing was imminent, but reiterated his promise that the central bank . The

Fed also has kept its funds rate target near zero and has indicated that policy is unlikely to change until at least 2014. Many Fed watchers have been expecting the Fed to change the

expected end date to 2015 from 2014 when policymakers meet in mid-September. (READ MORE: ) to highs not seen since March in the wake of Bernanke's speech, pushing shares of miners such

as Newmont , Barrick and Goldcorp sharply higher. . “Following his speech, there was some initial disappointment that the Fed didn’t announce any new stimulus plans, but the fact that the

Fed remains open has probably provided a floor for markets,” said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group. “And investors are slightly more optimistic today based on

comments coming from Europe.” Spain's government as the debt-ridden nation looks to accelerate the clean up the troubled sector. , reversing a three-day decline, amid optimism the ECB

will announce a new program of bond buying next week. (_READ MORE: _) Investors will be looking ahead to the ECB meeting next Thursday to see whether the central bank will discuss purchasing

sovereign debt, following Draghi's comment that he would do to defend the euro. “This particular rally this morning was about what’s going on in Europe,” said Art Cashin, director of

floor operations at UBS Financial Services. “The ECB may have come close to cobbling together a minor rescue mission… we had one of the ECB members saying they’re close to a sovereign

buyback bond program and Weidmann’s getting ready to resign.” Rumors swirled earlier this morning that Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann, one of the most strident holdouts against a potential

ECB bond-buying plan, considered resigning several times, according to a German newspaper. But a Bundesbank source dismissed the rumor after the European market close. Facebook tumbled to a

new all-time low after BMO Capital Markets and BofA Merrill Lynch cut their price targets on the social-networking giant to $15 from $25, and to $12 from $23, respectively. Shares have

plunged more than 50 percent since its market debut in May. Game publisher Zynga , which gets most of its revenue from Facebook, also dropped. JPMorgan said it plans to reduce some services

to clients and cut ties with others as the banking giant looks to , according to the Wall Street Journal. Among earnings, Splunk surged after the data analytics software maker posted

quarterly results and outlook that topped expectations. Meanwhile, Zumiez plunged after the apparel retailer forecast current-quarter profit below estimates. On the economic front, consumer

sentiment and factory orders posted the biggest gain in one year. Meanwhile, manufacturing activity in the Midwest was slightly lower than expected in August. The stock market will be closed

next Monday for Labor Day. _—By CNBC’s JeeYeon Park (Follow JeeYeon on Twitter: __) _ _ON TAP NEXT WEEK: _ MONDAY: Labor Day—Markets Closed TUESDAY: ISM mfg index, construction spending,

Democratic National Convention, auto sales; Earnings from Campbell Soup, Smithfield Foods, Teavana WEDNESDAY: Weekly mortgage apps, productivity & costs, Microsoft/Nokia to unveil

Windows 8 handset, Verizon/Motorola to unveil Droid RAZR; Earnings froM Dollar General, H&R Block, Verifond THURSDAY: Challenger job-cut report, ADP employment report, jobless claims,

ISM non-mfg index, quarterly services survey, oil inventories, NY fashion week starts, Amazon.com press conference; Earnings from Hovnanian FRIDAY: Gov't jobs report; Earnings from

Kroger, Lululemon _MORE FROM CNBC.COM: _