Dow rises after release of Fed Reserve minutes

NEW YORK (AP) — Traders pushed shares higher Tuesday after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting kept hope alive that the central bank would take more action to stimulate the US economy.

The Fed had said after its Sept. 21 meeting that it was concerned that inflation was too low, and suggested it could step up its purchases of government bonds and take other action to encourage lending.

Minutes from the September meeting, released Tuesday afternoon, indicated that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues were nearing a consensus on what steps to take. Traders are hoping for more concrete news from the Fed following its next meeting in early November.

The dollar fell against other currencies after the Fed minutes came out as traders anticipated another reduction in US interest rates.

Stocks turned higher in the afternoon, led by financial stocks. Technology stocks edged slightly higher, led by Citrix Systems, Inc. and Apple Inc.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 15.59, or .6 percent, to 2,417.92, while the Dow Jones industrial average rose 10.06 points, or .09 percent, to 11,020.40.

Google shares rose by $2.55 to $541.39 after the company said it would invest in wind farms off the East coast. Apple hit a new record, approaching $300 for the first time, after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said its stores will start carrying the popular iPad.

In other corporate news, shares of King Pharmaceuticals Inc. surged after Pfizer Inc. agreed to buy the drugmaker for $3.6 billion in cash. Traders sold shares of CSX Corp. before the company reports results after the market close.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 4.45, or 0.38 percent, to 1,169.77.

Shares of Intel Corp. rose 1.1 percent in after-hours trading after the chipmaker announced that it beat analysts estimates on earnings per share and total revenue in the third quarter.