Federal Reserve policy makers debated ways to invigorate the recovery and hiring this month, potentially laying the groundwork for action at their next gathering in late September.

Minutes of their closed-door meeting released yesterday in Washington showed that a few members of the Federal Open Market Committee favored a "more substantial move" at the Aug. 9 meeting beyond the pledge adopted by the panel to hold rates at record lows for the next two years.

Stocks rallied on bets the minutes indicated growing support for further steps to bolster a recovery hobbled by unemployment stuck above 9 percent. The Fed may decide at its Sept. 20-21 meeting to replace short-term Treasury securities in its $1.65 trillion portfolio with longer-term bonds in a bid to lower rates on everything from mortgages to car loans, said economists including Michael Feroli at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Dana Saporta at Credit Suisse.