U.S. stocks rose Monday after China elected not to raise interest rates and as Democrats anticipated the tax agreement would pass in the Senate.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently up 60 points, or 0.5%, at 11470.

Caterpillar, a bellwether for the global economy, was the blue-chip average's best performer, rising 2.4%, while Walt Disney gained 1.9%, and Chevron tacked on 1.9%.

General Electric shares slipped 0.2% after the conglomerate said it will offer $1.3 billion for Wellstream Holdings, a maker of flexible pipeline products for the oil and gas industry.

The move fits with GE's strategy to expand its industrial businesses with acquisitions.

Wellstream's board of directors said it will recommend shareholders accept the deal.

Monday's gains came after the People's Bank of China chose not to raise interest rates following strong inflation data released over the weekend.

On Friday, China had raised banks' reserve-requirement ratio for the third time in a month.

The U.S. economic and earnings calendar Monday was light, leaving little to describe the market's intraday action.

A much debated tax agreement is expected to comfortably clear a crucial hurdle in the Senate Monday, but Democrats in the House of Representatives remained eager to test whether they could push Republicans to raise the proposed tax rate on estates.

The technology oriented Nasdaq Composite added 0.1% to 2639 after closing Friday at its highest level since December 2007.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.4% to 1245, led by energy and materials stocks.

Investors are also gearing up for the outcome of the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting Tuesday afternoon.

But market participants expect little change from the central bank with respect to its near term outlook for monetary policy or its second round of quantitative easing, dubbed QE2.

European Markets

European stocks rose for a sixth consecutive session Monday as the mining sector benefited from China's decision not to hike interest rates over the weekend and as several deals were announced.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index, which advanced 1.9% last week, closed at its highest level in more than two years Monday, up 0.3% at 276.99.

Among the major indexes, France's CAC 40 added 0.9% to 3,892.44, Germany's DAX 30 gained 0.3% to 7,029.39, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.8% to 5,860.75.

China's commitment to stable and solid growth and its reluctance to increase rates too abruptly, combined with revised gross domestic product growth expectations in the U.S., are what the markets are focusing on right now, said Mike Lenhoff, strategist at Brewin Dolphin.

So called peripheral markets generally shared the upbeat mood, with Spain's Ibex 35 up 0.3%, and Portugal's PSI 20 adding 0.6%.

Italy's FTSE MIB rose 0.7% ahead of a make or break confidence vote for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center right government Tuesday.

Though sovereign debt concerns have taken a back seat over the past few sessions, the spotlight could well return to peripheral markets later this week when European leaders meet to sketch out the details of the automatic debt restructuring mechanism they've agreed on in principle.

Lenhoff said both Germany and France are likely to continue to resist the creation of European bonds and expansion of the stability fund.

Among miners, shares of Kazakhmys PLC rose 4.1% and Fresnillo PLC climbed 4% as metal prices continued to rise.

Shares in Wellstream Holdings PLC surged 5.8% to 790 pence a share after General Electric Co. said it will acquire the British oil services company for GBP800 million. Shares of Societe Generale gained 1.9% and Credit Agricole SA added 1%.

Asian Markets

Asian markets end mostly higher, with China and Hong Kong stocks climbing after Beijing failed to deliver a rate hike over the weekend, while financial shares posted gains in Australia and South Korea.

China's Shanghai Composite tacked on 2.9%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.7%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.8% and South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.5%.

Shares in China gained after the People's Bank of China on Friday raised banks' reserve requirement ratio by half a percentage point to 18.5%, avoiding harsher tightening measures such as an interest rate increase.

Analysts said the move likely indicates the government believes inflation peaked in November.

Offshore Oil Engineering, a unit of Cnooc, ended up 10%.

China Oilfield Services surged 10% in Shanghai and tacked on 1.9% in Hong Kong after it said Saturday it signed a long term oil drilling contract with Norway's Statoil.

China shares' gains helped to bolster stocks in Tokyo, with the Nikkei touching a fresh seven month closing high, while technology exporters such as Fanuc and Advantest were also helped by the weaker yen.

Fanuc added 1.5%, while Advantest added 1.3%.

Base Metals

Base metals closed higher on the London Metals Exchange Monday after positive economic news out of China and interest in new exchange traded commodities boosted investor confidence.

LME three month copper closed the day up 2.6%, at $9,220 a metric ton after a setting a fresh high of $9,325.25 a metric ton earlier in the day.

Hopes for copper's continued strength were boosted after China the world's top metals consumer chose not to raise interest rates over the weekend, a move that would have slowed the country's economic growth.

In addition, China reported a 5.1% rise in its consumer price index, signalling an expanding economy.

Crude futures rose Monday after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed over the weekend to keep oil output steady.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery settled 82 cents higher at $88.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

OPEC ministers meeting in Quito, Ecuador, over the weekend left oil production quotas intact at 24.85 million barrels a day, though the cartel actually produces above that level, closer to 29 million barrels a day.

Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali Naimi, OPEC's de facto leader, said the market is in balance.

Higher inflation in China and a weaker dollar boosted Comex gold futures 1%.

The most actively traded contract, for February delivery, settled $13.10, or 1%, higher at $1,398.00 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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