US stocks rise ahead of Fed minutes

New York - Wall Street stocks opened higher on Wednesday ahead of the release of the US Federal Reserve meeting minutes that could shed light on the odds of an interest rate hike this year.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17 566.49, up 76.99 points (0.44%).

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 8.95 (0.44%) to 2 059.39, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 19.00 (0.38%) to 5 005.01.

Minutes from the Fed's October 27-28 policy meeting come as the dollar lingers near a seven-month high against the euro.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has signaled a likely hike in near-zero rates in December.

"There is a presumption that the minutes will reveal a budding preference among voters to raise the target range for the federal funds rate at the December 15-16 meeting," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.