US stocks edge higher ahead of Fed meeting

New York - US stocks Wednesday opened slightly higher ahead of the conclusion of a crucial US Federal Reserve policy meeting that could scale back the central bank's aggressive bond-buying program.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32.72 points (0.21 percent) to 15 907.98.

The broad-based S&P 500 increased 1.70 (0.10%) to 1 782.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index inched up 0.66 (0.02%) to 4 0234.34

News from the Fed will dominate Wednesday's session, with the central bank determining whether the economy is strong enough to absorb a reduction in the $85 billion a month asset-purchase program.

Analysts disagree on whether the Fed will immediately taper the program. A Fed policy statement at 19:00 GMT will be followed by a news conference with Fed chairperson Ben Bernanke.

European stock markets were strong following good German business confidence data and improved British unemployment. The German DAX was up 1.0 percent, the French CAC 40 rose 0.9 percent and the British FTSE 100 increased 0.2%.