US stocks rise ahead of Fed decision

New York - Wall Street stocks opened higher on Wednesday ahead of a Federal Reserve announcement that it will offer a fresh assessment of whether the US economy remains solid.

Fed watchers see almost no chance the US central bank will hike interest rates today (Wednesday). But Fed chair Janet Yellen could offer reassurances that a weak May jobs report does not hearken an economic slowdown.

Yellen's comments will be analysed as to whether they leave the door open to an interest rate hike in July or soon thereafter.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% at 17 706.46.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 2 078.95, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2% to 4 851.93.