Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession was likely over, giving a boost to stocks and ETFs. Also helping was positive data on retail sales and business inventories.

Bernanke pronounced that the recession is very likely over but warned that "it's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56 points to 9682. The Nasdaq finished up 11 to 2103. The S&P 500 gained 3 to finish at 1053. All three major indexes hit highs for the year.

Retail sales soared 2.7% in August as car dealers received a big boost from the government's "clunkers" rebate program while other merchants fared well in an unexpected sign of consumer resilience. While much of the sales gain came from cars and gasoline, other sales rose 0.6%; that was the second increase in six months within the ex-car, ex-gas category.

Also, U.S. producer prices rebounded sharply last month on the back of rising gasoline and other energy costs, though core prices posted only a slight gain. Price pressures deeper in the production pipeline increased, as well, suggesting the possibility of higher prices down the road. The producer price index gained 1.7% in August, while core wholesale prices climbed 0.2%.

Gold prices climbed sharply, reaching $1,009 an ounce.

For a detailed rundown on Tuesday s trading session see our market story.

Winners

The Market Vectors Russia fund climbed 3.5% as energy prices rebounded. The Market Vectors Gold Miners fund rose 3.2% as the precious metal again topped $1,000 an ounce.

Losers

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR fund took a mild dip, with shares declining 0.9% as major holding Pfizer retreated after a lawsuit was filed last week over off-label drug promotions. The iShares MSCI Japan Index fund dipped 0.8% as investors worried about the strength of the yen to the dollar.

Wednesday s Notebook

Earnings and Conference Calls
Apogee Enterprises, CKE Restaurants, Dress Barn, Dynamex, Herman Miller, Oracle, Volt Information Sciences

Economic Data
7:00 a.m. MBA Purchase Applications
8:30 a.m. Consumer Price Index
8:30 a.m. Current Account
9:00 a.m. Treasury International Capital
9:15 a.m. Industrial Production
10:30 a.m. EIA Petroleum Status Report
1:00 p.m. Housing Market Index