NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Major stock indexes ended at their highest points of the year Tuesday after a stronger-than-expected retail sales report and comments from Fed chief Ben Bernanke helped offset concerns that the rally has outpaced the recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 57 points, or 0.6%, ending at its highest point since last Oct. 6. The S&P 500 (SPX) index rose 3 points, or 0.3%, ending at its highest point since Oct. 6. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) climbed 11 points, or 0.5%, and closed at its highest point since Sept. 26.

Stocks churned in the morning but managed some gains in the afternoon as investors digested comments from Fed chief Ben Bernanke that the recession is "very likely over."

Financial, industrial and select commodity stocks led the advance, including Dow components Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500), American Express (AXP, Fortune 500), Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500), Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) and General Electric (GE, Fortune 500).

Other than a little selling in the first few days of September, stocks have been extending the 2009 run.

"I think what we're seeing is continued evidence of anxiety about all the cash on the sidelines missing the early stages of a bull market," said Hank Smith, chief investment officer of equity at Haverford Trust.

He said that this factor was bringing buyers in at the dips and was likely to keep doing so in the weeks ahead.

Stocks managed gains Monday, but they were slight as investors continued to worry that the economic recovery was trailing the market surge.

"I think we can continue to move higher through year end, but I don't think we can do it with second-tier leadership like Citigroup and AIG," said Terry Morris, senior equity manager, National Penn Investors Trust.

He said high-quality companies with strong balance sheets need to take the lead.

The Consumer Price index, a measure of consumer inflation, is due Wednesday morning. CPI is expected to have risen 0.3% in August after showing no change in July. The so-called core CPI is expected to have risen 0.1% after rising 0.1% in July.

August capacity utilization and industrial production are also due in the morning, along with the weekly oil inventory report.

Bernanke: Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Bernanke said the recession is "very likely over," but that the pace of the recovery will be moderate next year and that it will still feel like a weak economy for some time.

While the Fed chairman's comments were essentially a retread of another recent speech, they appeared to give the markets a lift.

Retail sales: August retail sales rose 2.7%, the Commerce Department reported, reflecting the impact of the government's Cash for Clunkers auto stimulus program. Even without auto sales, the retail numbers were strong, suggesting consumer sentiment is improving.

The rise surprised economists who were looking for an advance of 1.9%, according to Briefing.com.

Other economic news: The Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of wholesale inflation, rose 1.7% in August after falling 0.9% in July. Economists thought it would rise 0.8%. The so-called Core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2% after falling 0.1% in July. Economists thought it would rise 0.1%.

The Empire State index, a regional read on manufacturing, rose to 18.8 in September, topping forecasts for a rise to 15. The index stood at 12 in August.

July business inventories fell 1% after falling 1.1% previously. Economists thought it would fall 0.9%.

Company news: Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) wants Treasury to sell off part of its roughly 34% stake in the financial firm, according to published reports. Citi is also looking to issue new shares to the public as part of a multibillion-dollar stock offering.

Since the collapse of Lehman Bros. last year, the government has poured $45 billion into the firm and agreed to share losses on a big piece of the bank's bad assets. Citi shares fell 9% Tuesday.

Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) reported weaker quarterly earnings that missed analysts' forecasts on higher revenue. The company also said that sales at stores open a year or more fell 3.9% in the fiscal second quarter.

The company's forecast was mixed. Best Buy lifted its fiscal 2010 earnings outlook to a range of $2.70 to $3 per share, but that means the midpoint of $2.75 is short of analysts' current forecast for earnings of $2.76 per share.

The electronics retailer also said it expects total revenue of $48 billion to $49 billion, versus analysts' forecasts for $47.8 billion. Best Buy shares fell 5%.

One year later: Tuesday marked the first anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the shotgun wedding buyout of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America -- events widely seen as the accelerant that pushed the recession into a full-blown crisis.

On that day last year, credit seized and panicked investors dumped financial shares, leading to a broad selloff that sent the Dow plunging 504 points.

Stocks were tumultuous through that week but managed to end with only modest declines after a series of government actions. Those included the Federal Reserve saving AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) from bankruptcy and the forming of an early version of the TARP bank bailout plan.

But any relief investors felt at the end of that week soon gave out. Stocks plummeted in the six months after the collapse, culminating March 9 with the S&P 500 and Dow bottoming out at 12-year lows and the Nasdaq hitting a more than six-year low.

Since March, the Dow has gained 47%, the S&P 500 gained 55% and the Nasdaq composite has gained 65%.

Year-over-year, the major indexes are still down, with the Dow and S&P 500 roughly where they stood in early October of last year and the Nasdaq where it stood about a week earlier, in late September.

President Obama spoke on Wall Street Monday, urging market pros to rebuild their relationship with the public and make sure that they don't engage again in the kind of behavior that led to the crisis.

For a look at what the government has been doing over the last year to manage the crisis, click here.

Currency and commodities: The dollar fell versus other major currencies, resuming its decline against the yen and euro.

The falling greenback boosted dollar-traded commodities.

U.S. light crude oil for October delivery rose $2.07 to settle at $70.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose $5.20 to settle at $1006.30 an ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.45% from 3.42% late Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

World markets: Global markets were mixed. In Europe, London's FTSE 100, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX all gained modestly. Asian markets were mixed, with Japan's Nikkei higher and the Hong Kong Hang Seng lower.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers seven to three on volume of 1.49 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by more than four to three on volume of 2.4 billion shares. 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks ended higher Monday as investors ultimately shook off the day's jitters about China's trade rift with the U.S. just ahead of the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 21 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index gained 6 points, or 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 11 points, or 0.5%.

Stocks took a breather Friday after a five-session winning streak that left the major indexes at the highest levels in nearly a year. But after that selloff, investors were wary Monday. A choppy session ended with only slim gains.

Higher commodity prices have supported the most recent leg of the advance, boosting the underlying stocks. Gains in technology and financial shares added to the advance.

But oil services, tech and financial shares struggled Monday, limiting the market's movement.

Tuesday brings the August retail sales report from the Commerce Department and, the Producer Price index (PPI), a measure of wholesale inflation, and the Empire State manufacturing index.

China: The U.S. and its largest trading partner are facing a growing rift, even as the countries continue to collaborate as part of a global effort to tackle the economic slowdown.

Late Friday, President Obama, responding to complaints from labor unions, said the U.S. would impose tariffs of up to 35% on tires from China.

On Sunday, China said it would begin the process of imposing tariffs on U.S. cars and chicken meat. On Monday, China asked the World Trade Organization to get involved.

The conflict precedes the Group of 20 meeting of leaders of the largest and fastest-growing economies in the U.S. next week.

Global markets tumbled, with major European and Asian markets ending lower.

The trade spat and slide in global markets gave a boost to the U.S. dollar, which has been sliding versus other major currencies lately.

President Obama: The president spoke Monday on Wall Street about financial services reform on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Obama said that the economy is returning to normal, but that it will take time. He also said Wall Street must take steps to rebuild its relationship with the public and make sure that it doesn't engage again in the kind of behavior that led to the crisis.

One-year later: Tuesday is the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and buyout of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, events that were seen as turning a recession into a full-blown crisis on a level not seen since the 1930s.

On that day, the Dow plunged 504 points as financial shares tumbled, credit seized up and investors panicked.

Stocks zigzagged through the week, but managed to end with just slim declines that Friday thanks to some government actions. They included the Fed jumping in to save AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) from bankruptcy and the establishment of an early version of the TARP bank bailout plan.

For a look at what the government has been doing over the last year to manage the crisis, click here.

Company news: Eli Lilly (LLY, Fortune 500) said its cutting around 5,500 jobs as part of a bigger plan to save $1 billion by 2011. Shares ended modestly higher.

Sprint (S, Fortune 500) shares rallied 11% on published reports that Deutsche Telekom, the owner of T-Mobile USA, is interesting in acquiring the U.S. based phone carrier.

Oil and gold: The stronger dollar dragged on dollar-traded commodities Monday, with oil and gold prices retreating.

U.S. light crude oil for October delivery fell 43 cents to settle at $68.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for December delivery fell $5.30 to settle at $1,001.10 an ounce, remaining above the key $1,000 level.

Bonds: Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.38% from 3.35% late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers two to one on volume of 1.21 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners eight to five on volume of 2.19 billion shares. 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised for a sluggish start Wednesday as the dollar remained under pressure and investors prepared to move to the sidelines after the previous session's big rally.

At 7:45 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, Nasdaq 100 and Standard & Poor's 500 futures were narrowly mixed.

Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

"It's probably going to be a dullish start," said Gary Jenkins, fixed income strategist at Evolution Securities in London. "We've seen quite a good comeback and I think the markets are going to take a bit of a pause."

Stocks advanced Tuesday, led by commodity shares. The Nasdaq hit an 11-month high and the Dow and S&P 500 also climbed.

Jenkins said the markets could remain lackluster until the next wave of economic data. That would be Thursday, with reports on initial jobless claims and the trade balance.

Money: The weakness in the greenback could weigh on sentiment. The dollar held near its 2009 low against a basket of currencies and touched its lowest point all year against the Australian dollar. But in recent trading, the dollar did manage to edge up against some currencies, including the yen.

Drugs: Vivus (VVUS), a pharmaceutical company based in Mountain View, Calif., announced that it had successfully completed two late-stage studies for its experimental weight loss drug, Qnexa. Patients participating in the 56-week study lost an average of 14.7% of their body weight, or 37 pounds.

The company's stock price jumped more than 50% in pre-market trading.

Economy: Investors will look to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book of economic conditions for direction. The report comes out at 2 p.m. ET.

Companies: Palm (PALM) unveiled its latest smartphone, the Pixi. A smaller version of the Pre, the Pixi is geared towards younger users.

Apple is expected to launch new iPods at a music event at 1 p.m. ET and could also throw out a few surprises.

World markets: The mood overseas was mixed, with Asian shares finishing in negative territory but most European markets making modest gains in midday trading.

Oil: The price of oil slipped 6 cents a barrel to $71.04.

Bond prices sank, raising the corresponding yields, while the dollar fell to its lowest point in almost a year. Commodity prices surged.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 56 points, or 0.6%, ending close to 10-month highs. The S&P 500 (SPX) index added 9 points, or 0.9%, ending close to 11-month highs. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) advanced 19 points, or 0.9% and ended at the highest point since Oct. 1, 2008.

Last week, Wall Street ended a choppy week lower as investors hunkered down after a strong August and ahead of the long holiday weekend. All financial markets were closed Monday for Labor Day.

But Wall Streeters returned in better spirits Monday, scooping up a variety of stocks, led by the commodities sector.

A more than 4% spike in oil prices and gold prices that briefly topped $1,000 gave a lift to the influential commodities sector. Dow stocks Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) were the biggest gainers on the blue-chip average. A rally in metals stocks lifted the Gold Bugs (HUI) index by 1%.

Tempering the advance was a selloff in some of the financial shares that rallied late in the summer, including Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500), Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and AIG (AIG, Fortune 500). Dow component Travelers (TRV, Fortune 500) also retreated.

"We've had an amazingly strong summer," said Ben Halliburton, chief investment officer at Tradition Capital Management. "As the rate of decline has slowed in profits and revenues, stocks have improved."

All three major markets rose between 11% and 13% over the summer. But after such a run, "it's show-me-the-money time for the economy and profits in the third quarter," Halliburton said. "The improvements have to start or people are going to doubt the rally and back out."

September is typically a tough month for Wall Street as market pros return from their summer vacations with a cleaning-house mentality. It is the worst month on Wall Street in terms of percentage losses for the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite, according to Stock Trader's Almanac.

Over the last few weeks, the S&P 500 seesawed across 1000, a key psychological level that traders watch. That seesawing may continue for the next few weeks, said Todd Salamone, director of trading at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

"We expect the S&P 500 to battle between around 980 and 1060," Salamone said. "There's no big commitment to accumulate stocks at this point."

He said that stocks may not move much in one way or the other until at least the middle of October, when the third-quarter profit reports start to pour in.

Company news: Hopes that a period of dealmaking could resume helped nudge the advance along Tuesday.

Kraft Foods (KFT, Fortune 500) shares slumped almost 6% after British candy maker Cadbury (CBY) spurned its $16.7 billion takeover offer. However, the company, a Dow component, said it would continue to pursue a merger. Cadbury shares jumped 38%.

General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) shares rallied 4.5% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral."

Among other movers, Opexa Therapeutics (OPXA) surged 270% after a mid-stage study showed that at least 83% of patients taking its multiple sclerosis drug had not relapsed one year later.

Economy: Leaders from the world's 20 biggest economies, meeting over the weekend, agreed to continue to provide stimulus to support the global recovery.

Consumers cut their borrowing in July by $21.6 billion, the most on records dating back to 1943. Economists thought credit would fall by $4 billion. Credit fell by a revised $15.5 billion in June.

World markets: Global markets gained after gold topped $1,000 an ounce. In Europe, London's FTSE 100, France's CAC 40 and the German DAX all gained modestly.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei gained 0.7% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng added 2.1%.

Oil and gold: U.S. light crude oil for October delivery rose $3.08 to settle at $71.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose $3.10 to settle at $999.80 an ounce after surpassing $1,000 earlier in the session.

Bonds and currency: Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.46%, from 3.44% late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and the Japanese yen.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers three to one on volume of 1.32 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners eight to five on volume of 2.04 billion shares.

At 8:25 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, Nasdaq 100 and Standard & Poor's 500 futures were sharply higher.

Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

September is typically a tough month for Wall Street. U.S. markets were closed Monday for Labor Day after all three major indexes finished last week lower.

"The selloff last week happened for a lot of good reasons," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co. "But I think there were a lot of people waiting for more of a pullback than we saw last week to put money to work."

Companies: Helping to boost sentiment after the holiday weekend was the sense that merger activity may be back on the rise.

British candy maker Cadbury (CBY) rejected a $16.7 billion takeover offer from Kraft (KFT, Fortune 500) Monday. But Kraft said it would continue to pursue a merger.

In other corporate news, JPMorgan elevated its rating of General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) to "overweight" from "neutral."

Pork producer Smithfield Foods (SFD, Fortune 500) reported a bigger-than-expected loss, hurt by weakened demand and concerns about H1N1 flu.

Economy: The Federal Reserve is due to release a report on consumer credit in the afternoon. Credit is expected to have fallen for a sixth straight month as the recession continues to nip borrowing.

World markets: Global stocks rose, led by commodity producers, after gold topped $1,000 an ounce.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 2.1% and Japan's Nikkei added nearly 1%. European shares ticked higher in midday trading.

The dollar fell against major currencies, including the euro and yen.

Weakness in the greenback also helped lift crude prices Tuesday as oil jumped $1.83 to $69.85 a barrel.