The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to its highest intraday level in more than two years Tuesday as Federal Reserve officials stuck to their easy money policy while data showed rising sales in the retail and business arenas.

The Dow rose 64 points, or 0.6%, to 11491, in recent trading.

Shortly after the Fed's statement was released, the measure hit 11514.08, its highest intraday level since September 2008.

Its top performers spanned a variety of sectors, with Boeing up 1.7%, Kraft Foods up 1.9% and Merck up 1.6%, as a broad range of stocks were lifted by the improving economic data.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to 2633, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.3% to 1245.

The gains came as Federal Reserve officials maintained their policy of buying U.S. Treasury bonds and keeping short term interest rates near zero amid new signs that the recovery is gathering some steam.

Fed officials also reaffirmed that their plan to buy $600 billion in U.S. Treasury debt through June would be subject to regular reviews and may be adjusted depending on how the economy fares.

But after a one-day policy meeting their last gathering of the year they gave no indication that they're considering changing anything.

The Fed's widely expected decision came as new data showed consumers kicked off their holiday shopping with a burst of spending.

Strong November retail sales and upward revisions to the prior two months led many private economists to raise their economic forecasts for the fourth quarter.

Investors were also encouraged Tuesday to see inventories at U.S. businesses rose less than expected in October as auto dealers and other retailers sold goods faster than they replenished stockrooms.

Among stocks in focus, Best Buy tumbled 16% after the company issued a dour report for the quarter ended Nov. 27, which included Black Friday.

European Markets

European stocks advanced for a seventh consecutive session Tuesday, led higher by energy giant BP PLC and French water and waste firm Suez Environnement.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.2% to 277.65, a new closing high for 2010.

The FTSE 100 index gained 0.5% to close at 5,891.21 in London, with BP leading the gainers, rallying 3.2% after the company said it will sell $775 million of assets in Pakistan and as Credit Suisse named the energy firm as its top pick in the sector.

In Milan, the FTSE MIB index rose 0.4% after Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won two votes of confidence, one in the lower house of parliament and one in the Senate.

Shares of Mediaset SpA, the television and cinema firm controlled by the Berlusconi family via Fininvest Group, advanced 3.3%.

In France, the CAC 40 gained 0.3% to 3,902.87, led by shares of Suez Environnement and Veolia Environnement, which rose 3.2% and 1.5%, respectively.

The two firms were upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 finished nearly unchanged at 7,027.40.

Among Europe's so called peripheral markets, Ireland's ISEQ and Spain's IBEX 35 indexes both edged up 0.1%. Portugal's PSI 20 dropped 0.7%.

Asian Markets

Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday, with technology plays helping the Seoul market reach its highest point in more than three years, while shares in China were sluggish as investors were wary about further tightening measures from Beijing.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was flat, South Korea's Kospi Composite was up 0.4% at 2004.67, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.2%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.2%.

In China, the market pulled back slightly after Monday's sharp gains.

Among actively traded stocks, Shenzhen Zhenye was down 2.1%, China Vanke was off 0.4% and Western Mining fell 1.0%.

Technology plays and automakers underpinned the Seoul market, with the benchmark index hitting 2004.67, its highest level since Nov. 7, 2007.

Analysts continued to watch out for signs of improved sales of the country's technology products during the U.S. holiday season.

Hynix Semiconductor rose 1.8% and Samsung Electronics advanced 0.4%, while Hyundai Motor added 1.7% and Kia Motors rose 1.0%.

Shares in Tokyo were flat as gains in resource linked stocks were offset by sluggish trade in exporters' stocks due to Monday's rise in the yen against the U.S. dollar.

Honda Motor was off 0.8%, Sony dropped 1.0%, Canon fell 1.0% while JX Holdings rose 1.1% and Inpex gained 2.0%.

Base Metals

Base metals closed mixed on the London Metal Exchange Tuesday, after cautious investors took profits on copper's new record highs ahead of a statement from the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate setting committee.

Demand for perceived riskier assets declined across the financial markets during European afternoon hours as market participants shied away from any bold moves ahead of the results of the Fed Open Market Committee meeting.

LME three month copper closed down 0.6% on the day at $9,165 a metric ton.

Crude futures fell Tuesday, hurt by a report of declining U.S. gasoline demand.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery settled 33 cents lower at $88.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

MasterCard's SpendingPulse report showed gasoline demand fell 2.7% in the week ended Dec. 10, to 9.182 million b/d.

The drop was the biggest since Aug. 27, but came from a strong week earlier level that was the most since Aug. 27.

Gold futures settled in positive territory, and rose slightly in after market trade as the Federal Reserve's interest rate setting committee said it will maintain current monetary easing policies.

The most actively traded contract, for February delivery, settled up 0.5%, or $6.30, at $1,404.30 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold futures made modest gains in after-market trade as the Federal Open Market Committee announced no change to monetary policy Tuesday afternoon.

The contract gained 0.5%, or $7.10, to $1,405.10 per troy ounce in electronic trading.

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