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Good news and improving economy lifted spirits on Wall Street Wednesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index broke through a key milestone 1,200 mark for the first since September 2008, after rising 13.35 points to 1,210.65. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 104 points to end at 11123.03, after on Apr. 12, 2010 the Dow broke the 11,000 point for the first time since Sept. 26, 2008.

The positive news came from all directions. Corporate earnings numbers show strong results. Shoppers and businesses are feeling better about the improving economy. Retail spending rose sharply in March, while consumer inflation remained all but invisible. Businesses boosted their stockpiles for the second straight month in February in anticipation of higher shopper demand.

One of the biggest forces behind the market's climb came from JPMorgan Chase, which reported a better-than-expected profit for the January-March quarter. Intel posted earnings and revenue after the closing bell Tuesday that topped analysts' expectations. JPMorgan rose 4.1 percent, while Intel added 3.3 percent.

Retail sales surged 1.6 percent last month, the Commerce Department said, up from February's revised 0.5 percent gain. Increases were posted across the board. Separately, the government said consumer prices inched up just 0.1 percent in March. Excluding food and energy, prices were unchanged in March

Fed reported the recovery is spreading to most parts of the country, merchants are enjoying better sales, and factories are boosting production, but companies are still cautious of starting hiring. In its beige book of regional economic indicators, the Federal Reserve was upbeat about the consumer spending, which represents more than two-thirds of gross domestic product in the U.S. But the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the recovery is not strong enough to shrink the current 9.7 percent unemployment rate much.