US stocks mostly up ahead of Fed statement

New York - US stocks opened mostly higher on Wednesday following strong Apple earnings as investors awaited a Federal Reserve policy statement later in the day.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17.627.96, up 46.53 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.16% to 2 069.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.05% to 5 027.70.

Apple gained 1.9% after reporting that fourth-quarter profits rose 31% to $11.1bn behind a 22% jump in revenue to $51.5bn.

Markets were looking ahead to the 20:00 release of a Fed policy statement. A rate hike is considered off the table for now, but the communique will be scrutinized for clues about the future.

"The market predominately thinks that a rate hike will wait for 2016, so any hint that the FOMC is still leaning in favour of a rate hike at the December meeting could cause some bearish upset in afternoon trading," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

"Conversely, an all-clear signal for 2015 could get the bulls running again."