NEW YORK, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street advanced Tuesday as the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rate to stimulate the weakening U.S. economy.

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

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

    The U.S. consumer confidence index declined to 87.9 in January from 90.6 for December, but still 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.