Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated Wednesday that the Federal Reserve will keep its stimulus policies in place for as long as necessary, and investors are starting to get the message.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.1%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both gained about 0.3%. The Dow and S&P are both a few points below from all-time highs.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond edged lower after Bernanke told lawmakers that the Fed’s $85 billion-per-day bond buying program is “by no means on a preset course.”

Overall, the subdued moves suggest that investors are beginning to accept Bernanke’s core position, which is that monetary policy will remain highly accomodative, even as the Fed begins to scale back its bond buying, said Ashraf Laidi, global market strategist at City Index in London.

“Fed Chairman Bernanke’s main message is finally getting through to market participants,” he said.

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Bernanke strikes a balance: In the first day of his semi-annual Congressional testimony, Bernanke sought to reassure lawmakers that the central bank is taking a measured approach to quantitative easing, as the bond buying program is known.

Echoing previous statements, Bernanke said the Fed could increase the pace of its bond buying if the economy falters, adding that it could also be reduced “somewhat more quickly” if the recovery accelerates.

While that’s not new, Bernanke tempered fears that the Fed could begin to slow the program this year by highlighting the “downside risks” to the economy, including rising mortgage rates and tepid inflation.

Bernanke’s testimony seems to be “emphasizing the ‘no-imminent-tightening point’ a bit more,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.

The chairman rattled global markets in May, when he said the Fed could decide to taper its bond buyingat one of its next few meetings. The Fed’s stimulus measures have kept the markets awash with liquidity and helped spur recent stock market highs.

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In the latest edition of its Beige Book, the Fed said the economic activity across the central bank’s districts continued to grow at a “modest to moderate pace.”

Housing weakness: The number of new homes breaking ground in June fell 10% from May, the Commerce Department said. Meanwhile, applications for building permits, considered a leading indicator for new home construction, fell 7%. Both figures were worse than expected.

That suggests the recent surge in mortgage rates has taken a toll on the housing market, said Michael Englund, economist at Action Economics.

While the recovery in housing remains on track, Englund said there is a “greater risk of a mid-year speed-bump with weaker figures than we had previously assumed.”