Market rally continues into fourth week

Stocks rose Monday to their highest level in four months as hopes grew for more action by the Federal Reserve to prop up the economy. The gains extended the market's rally into a fourth consecutive week.

Buying accelerated after the Standard & Poor's 500 index, the market measure most often used by professional traders, broke through the high end of its recent range. Technical analysts see that as a bullish sign.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 145.77 points, or 1.4 percent, to close at 10,753.62. It has now risen in 12 of the past 14 days. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 17.12 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,142.71. The Nasdaq composite rose 40.22 points, or 1.7 percent, to 2,355.83.

An announcement from a group of economists declaring that the recession ended in June 2009 was a mild positive, but that assessment was in line with what many analysts already believed.

Deal news also helped lift shares. IBM Corp. said it would buy data storage provider Netezza Corp. for about $1.7 billion in cash.

The Fed meets Tuesday to discuss interest rates, and investors are hoping for a sign that the central bank might make more moves to keep rates low.

Investors have been encouraged by better economic reports this month, especially on jobs and manufacturing, to send stocks steadily higher in September.

Investors also see hope in a softer stance in recent weeks by President Barack Obama's administration about tax and business-related programs. Keith Goddard, co-manager of the Capital Advisors Growth Fund, said a shift in policy could mean the Bush-era tax cuts will be extended.