U.S stocks advanced Tuesday as the Federal Reserve as investors anticipate another interest-rate cut on Wednesday by the Federal Open Market Committee.

The Fed opened a two-day meeting on Tuesday, which was expected to result in another interest rate cut. The decision won't be announced until Wednesday afternoon, but investors are expecting a half-point cut following the Fed's emergency three-quarter-point cut last week Tuesday.

The market increased after the government reported that orders for U.S.-made durable goods surged in December. There was a 5.2 percent higher demand for airplanes, communications equipment, and defense capital goods, the report said. The increase far exceeded the expected 2.2 percent gain forecast and it was the largest gain in total orders since July 2007.

In addition, the Conference Board reported consumer confidence fell in January, which analysts had predicted.

The U.S. consumer confidence index dropped to 87.9 in January from 90.6 for December, but was better than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 96.41, or 0.78 percent, to 12,480.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.33, or 0.62 percent, to 1,362.29, and the NASDAQ composite advanced 8.15, or 0.35 percent, to 2,358.06.