Stocks up in advance of Federal announcement

Dec 13, 2011, 11:43 by R.E. Christian

Stocks on Wall Street rose Tuesday in advance of an interest rate decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve expected in the afternoon.

The Fed announced in the summer it expected to keep the key lending rate at historic lows of zero to 0.25 percent until mid-2013. With that in mind, no policy shifts are expected Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average moved up and down, then headed back up. In mid-afternoon trading, the index was up 89.68 points or 0.75 percent to 12,111.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 6.10 points or 0.55 percent to 1,243.22. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 5.25 points or 0.2 percent t 2,617.51.

The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 9/32 to yield 1.986 percent.

The euro fell to $1.3097 from Monday's $1.3188. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 77.87 yen from Monday's 77.93 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index shed 1.17 percent, 101.01, to 8,552.81.

In London, the FTSE 100 index added 1.15 percent, 62.29, to 5,490.15.

Source: UPI