U.S. stocks solidified their Federal Reserve inspired gains Tuesday as Wall Street embraced the latest indication that further monetary easing is ahead. After tentatively stepping higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 30.84 points, or 0.3%, to 11,041.18. The S&P 500 ($SPX) climbed 5.79 points, or 0.5%, to 1,171.11.The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) added 17.19 points, or 0.7%, to 2,419.52. T

he minutes appeared to give investors what they were looking for, showing Fed officials' discussions in September focused on buying more U.S. Treasurys or new strategies for inflation if prices remained too low and unemployment too high. The minutes also revealed that the Fed's staff cut the projections for economic growth in 2011 and expected the underlying inflation rate already below the central bank's informal objective to slow further next year.

Investors have been increasingly expecting the Fed to unveil additional stimulus measures at its November meeting, which has driven the dollar lower and stocks higher in recent weeks. Financial and technology companies led the gains in stocks as investors grew hopeful for earnings reports due from Intel and J.P. Morgan. Intel, which is reporting after Tuesday's close, edged up 0.4%, while J.P. Morgan, which is scheduled to release its report Wednesday morning, climbed 0.9%. Other technology gainers included Hewlett-Packard, up 0.6%, and Microsoft, up 0.7%, while financial advancers included American Express, up 1.5%, and Bank of America, up 1.5%.

European market

European stocks fell Tuesday following losses in Asian markets and before the release of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, with miners leading the decline. The Stoxx Europe 600 index was 0.3% lower at 262.48. Among other main indexes, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.2% to 5,661.59, and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.5% to 3,748.86. Germany's DAX 30 index ended down 0.1% at 6,304.57. In Europe, mining stocks were the biggest decliners as metal prices fell, with Kazakhmys down 2.2% and Xstrata down 3%.

Asian markets

Asian shares ended mostly lower Tuesday, with Japanese stocks taking a hammering amid concerns over the yen's strength, but China's shares rose for a fourth straight session on gains in resources plays. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average slumped 2.1% and South Korea's Kospi shed 1.2%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.4% after closing at an over two year high Monday, while China's Shanghai Composite tacked on 1.2%. Japanese shares tumbled, weighed by exporters, as the U.S. dollar remained close to 15 year lows against the yen, despite a fresh warning from Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda that Tokyo would take decisive steps to stem the local currency's rise.

Exporters were broadly lower, with Sony down 2.2%, Honda Motor shedding 2.0% and Mazda Motor sliding 5%. Chinese stocks defied the broad trend to end higher as metals shares rose with the help of rising commodity prices, while power sector shares extended gains on a proposed change in tariffs. Among metal shares, Jiangxi Copper's Shanghai shares rose a further 6.1%, while Aluminum Corp. of China jumped 5.3%. The stocks rose 1.4% and 2.3%, respectively, in Hong Kong.

Base metals

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange ended mostly higher Tuesday, bouncing back after the euro steadied against the dollar and U.S. equities pared early losses. Crude futures settled slightly lower Tuesday as investors moved to lock in profits from the recent rally ahead of a meeting of oil ministers and crude inventory data due later this week.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery settled 54 cents, or 0.7%, lower, at $81.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled 22 cents lower, at $83.50 a barrel.

Gold futures retreated in the face of a strengthening U.S. dollar. The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, fell $7.70, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,346.70 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile exchange.

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