US stocks opened higher Wednesday as investors expected the Federal Reserve would announce new support for the sluggish economy following a two-day monetary policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 37.44 points (0.28 percent) to 13,285.88 in the first 10 minutes of trade, building on a five-day winning streak.
The S&P 500-stock index advanced 4.08 (0.29 percent) to 1,431.92, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite added 9.87 (0.33
percent) at 3,032.17.
The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee is due to announce its monetary policy update at 12:30 pm (19:30 SA time).
“Wall Street is speculating the Fed will replace the expiring Operation Twist program with a fresh round of Treasury purchases,” said Karee Venema of Schaeffer's Investment Research.
On Tuesday, gains in technology shares underpinned Wall Street gains.
The Dow added 0.60 percent, the S&P 500 rose 0.65 percent and the Nasdaq 1.18 percent. - Sapa-AFP