Stocks gained on Wednesday after investors viewed a Federal Reserve report that said business activity grew last month in most of the country as a sign that the Fed’s string of interest rate hikes might be near an end.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 57.32, or 0.5 percent, to 10,637.09. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 5.63, or 0.5 percent, to 1,236.79, reaching another four-year high. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 10.23, or 0.5 percent, to 2,186.22.

The Fed’s Beige Book, a survey of the business climate around the country, said the job market improved and that inflation was fairly contained. Seven out of 12 districts reported their regional economies were growing or holding steady. That report, which followed data earlier in the day showing an unexpected jump in durable goods orders, moved markets above a narrow trading range that held until mid-afternoon.

Among local companies, shares of Guitar Center Inc. gained 4.6 percent to $64.64 after the Westlake Village-based musical retailer reported, late Tuesday, adjusted net income of $15 million (53 cents per diluted share) for the second quarter ended June 30, beating analysts’ estimates of 49 cents a share.

And Napster Inc. rose 4.2 percent to $4.93 after the L.A.-based digital music provider announced a deal with XM Satellite Radio that will allow the radio network’s four million subscribers to purchase what they hear on the satellite network from Napster. The new service, called XM+Napster, will be available by the end of the year.

On the down side, shares of Cheesecake Factory Inc. lost 2.8 percent to $35.72 after the Calabasas Hills-based restaurant operator said that it exercised an option to acquire a 15.8-acre site in Rocky Mount, N.C., where it will open a second bakery production facility. It expects to take a $1 million charge in pre-opening expenses during fiscal 2005. Improvements to the 100,000 square foot building on the site are expected to be completed in early 2006.