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By Joseph Adinolfi and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Dow's march toward 20,000 continues; blue-chip gauge up 100 points

U.S. stocks traded at fresh intraday records on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average continued its march toward 20,000.

Investors remain fixated on the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision due Wednesday, with little ahead in the way of important U.S. economic data.

Investors are pricing in a nearly 100% chance of a hike on Wednesday, but it is the tone of the Fed's statement, as well as its latest batch of economic forecasts, that will be closely scrutinized for clues to the central bank's plans for 2017, said James Abate, chief investment officer at Centre Asset Management.

"It's really going to be expectations for commentary from the Fed related to the pace of rate increases in 2017," Abate said.

See:Yellen to tell the markets to 'cool your jets' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yellen-to-tell-the-markets-to-cool-your-jets-2016-12-12)

The Dow climbed 82 points, or 0.4%, to 19,878. If the Dow finishes higher, it will notch its seventh straight gain. Sharp gains for shares of Apple Inc.(AAPL), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) contributed the most to the rise in the stock gauge. Shares of 3M Co.(MMM), Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and Walt Disney Co.(DIS) were the only early laggards.

The benchmark on Monday bucked a negative trend across the U.S. stock markets and closed at an all-time high (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-20000-within-sight-but-caution-over-fed-wont-make-it-easy-2016-12-12).

U.S. stocks have rallied aggressively since President-elect Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in an upset victory in the Nov. 8 U.S. election. Investors are betting that Trump's proposed policies, including corporate tax cuts, infrastructure spending and deregulation, will be unequivocally pro-business, if passed.

Read:Time to cash in your bank stocks, going by this chart (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/time-to-cash-in-your-bank-stocks-going-by-this-chart-2016-12-13)

See:Is stock-market 'Trumpophoria' running out of room? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-stock-market-trumpophoria-running-out-of-room-2016-12-12)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-stock-market-trumpophoria-running-out-of-room-2016-12-12)Read:5 things to know about the Dow's attempt to rally to 20,000 and beyond (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-things-to-know-about-the-dows-attempt-to-rally-to-20000-and-beyond-2016-12-12)

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index gained about 11 points, or 0.5%, to 2,267, with nine of the index's 11 sectors in the green.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 55 points, or 1%, to 5,468.

Both the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite Index ended lower on Monday, with investors appearing reluctant to push shares higher ahead of the Fed meeting.

Mike Antonelli, equity sales trader at R.W. Baird & Co., noted that Tuesday's rally was broad-based, and that tech shares were leading as investors saw attractive valuations across the sector after Tuesday's selloff.

"We're in full breakout mode here," Antonelli said.

U.S. stocks also benefited from an uptick in demand for risky European assets. Earlier, UniCredit said it plans to shed EUR17.7 billion ($18.9 billion) in bad debt (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/unicredit-looks-to-raise-14-bln-cut-14000-jobs-2016-12-13). The move, which will help to restore Italy's largest lender to health, assuaged fears about Italy's troubled banking sector. The European Stoxx 600 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/italian-stocks-lead-european-equities-back-to-11-month-high-2016-12-13) was up 0.7% to 256.33. Asian markets closed slightly higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-largely-flat-ahead-of-fed-meeting-2016-12-12).

While many, including Antonelli, expect the equity rally to continue, some noted that the sharp gains seen since the election are beginning look overstretched by several measures. Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading, said one typically reliable indicator, the CNNMoney Fear & Greed Index, has been flashing warning signs for some time. The index stood at 88 on Tuesday, (http://money.cnn.com/data/fear-and-greed/) signifying "extreme greed."

Fed meeting: The central bank kicks off its two-day policy-setting meeting on Tuesday and will deliver its rate announcement on Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The bank is widely expected to raise its benchmark rate by 25 basis points, so the big question for traders is how hawkish or dovish the statement will be.

"Stock traders appear to be betting on a dovish Fed," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, in emailed comments.

Read:Look for the Fed to hike rates and to ignore the elephant in the room (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-to-hike-interest-rates-next-week-while-ignoring-the-elephant-in-the-room-2016-12-09)

The dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-eases-slightly-vs-yen-as-some-say-rally-may-be-running-out-of-steam-2016-12-13), (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-eases-slightly-vs-yen-as-some-say-rally-may-be-running-out-of-steam-2016-12-13) but was little-changed against the euro.

Oil prices were slightly lower on Tuesday, with crude futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-slip-as-investor-doubts-grow-about-opecs-plans-to-cut-production-2016-12-13) holding just below $53 a barrel, after the International Energy Agency lifted its demand forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/opec-output-at-record-high-as-deal-was-struck-iea-2016-12-13) for 2016. Metals were mostly lower.

Commitments by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and a host of nonmember exporters, to cut oil production have boosted oil prices in recent days.

Strong readings on Chinese industrial production and retail sales provided more evidence that the world's second-largest economy steadied in November, helping to boost global risk sentiment.

See:Will oil output cuts work? Watch these 7 factors (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/will-oil-output-cuts-work-watch-these-7-things-2016-12-12)

In other economic news on Tuesday, the NFIB small-business index jumped by the largest monthly amount in more than seven years (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/small-business-sentiment-surges-after-republican-sweep-2016-12-13) in November on optimism Trump's administration will spur an increase in business activity.

Movers and shakers: Energy shares, including Chesapeake Energy Corp.(CHK) and Noble Energy Inc.(NBL), received a boost from the oil-price rally.

U.S.-listed shares of Unilever PLC(ULVR.LN) (ULVR.LN) climbed 2.1% after Jefferies upgraded the consumer products company to buy from hold.

Inovalon Holdings Inc.(INOV) sank 36% after the data-analytics company late Monday slashed its yearly guidance.

VeriFone Systems Inc.(PAY) shares soared 7.5% Tuesday after topping Wall Street estimates (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/verifone-shares-tick-higher-as-earnings-beat-outlook-misses-2016-12-12) for the quarter in an earnings report released late Monday.

U.S.-listed shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA(ABI.BT) (ABI.BT) added 1.4% after news Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. (2502.TO) will buy five Eastern European beer brands (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asahi-to-pay-78-bln-for-5-ab-inbev-beer-brands-2016-12-13-44853827) from the brewer.

Apple Inc.(AAPL) rose 1.5% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the tech giant is eager to invest in a $100 billion fund (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-said-to-be-interested-in-softbanks-100-billion-tech-fund-2016-12-12) being raised by Japanese internet and telecommunications giant SoftBank Group Corp. (9984.TO).

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT)shares rose 0.5% even after U.K. supermarket chain Asda, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart, saw its market share fall to 15.3%, from 16.2% for the comparable 12 weeks.

Read: Wal-Mart shares are poised for more gains, but could Trump spoil the party? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wal-mart-shares-poised-for-more-gains-but-could-trump-spoil-the-party-2016-12-13)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 13, 2016 10:27 ET (15:27 GMT)

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