U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday as Federal Reserve may end its rate-raising campaign started June 2004 and oil prices closed with record highs above 71 dollars.

Policymakers at U.S. Federal Reserve believed last month that the end of its rate-raising campaign started June 2004 was probably close at hand, according to minutes of the central bank's meeting on March 27-28.

"Most members thought that the end of the tightening process was likely to be near," said the minutes released on Tuesday.

World crude oil prices closed with record highs Tuesday, amid worries of supply in Iran and Nigeria.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, added 93 cents to close at 71.35 dollars a barrel, its highest closing price since 1983, after touching intra-day high of 71.60 dollars, the highest intraday price since 1983.

On London's ICE Futures exchange, the price of Brent North Sea crude for June delivery climbed 1.05 dollars to 72.51 dollars a barrel, its record high since 1988.

Among companies in focus, Merrill Lynch & Co., the world's largest securities firm, reported a smaller-than-expected decline in first-quarter profit as gains in trading, investment banking, and brokerage commissions boosted revenue to a record.

Merrill Lynch said its first-quarter profit was 44 cents a share. Analysts expected 32 cents, on average, in a survey by Thomson Financial, which doesn't disclose the parameters of its figures.

At the closing time, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 195.39 points, or 1.76 percent, to 11,269.17. The Standard & Poor 's 500 Index was up 22.28 points, or 1.73 percent, at 1,307.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 44.98 points, or 1.95 percent, at 2,356.14.

Source: Xinhua