US stocks gained moderately on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve's move to rescue the economy helped offset a round of negative economic data.

More details of the Fed's efforts to avert the economic downturn were revealed in the minutes of its December meeting. At that gathering, policymakers cut the key interest rate to a record-low range of zero to 0.25 percent.

The Fed minutes boosted the market sentiment which was beaten by disappointing data on the service sector, factory orders and pending home sales.

The US Commerce Department said factory orders declined twice as much as forecast in November, a record fourth straight month decline. The National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales fell 4 percent to 82.3 in November, the lowest level on record.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management reported on Tuesday that the US services sector contracted at a slower pace last month, which rose to 40.6 in December from 37.3 in November.

Technology shares gained ground as Hewlett-Packard and IBM lifted the Dow.

The Dow Jones rose 62.21 to 9015.10. Broader indexes also moved higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 7.25 to 934.7; and the Nasdaq advanced 24.35 to 1,652.38.

(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2009)