US open: Stocks slightly higher ahead of FOMC minutes
Wall Street stocks opened slightly higher on Wednesday as market participants awaited details from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting.
As of 1540 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.09% at 33,459.85, while the S&P 500 was 0.19% firmer at 4,081.77 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.22% stronger at 13,728.47.
The Dow Jones opened 29.61 points lower on Wednesday, cutting into losses recorded in the previous session.
In focus early on Wednesday, rising yields that had spooked investors and led to a rotation out of growth and into value-oriented stocks were lower again, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dipping to 1.65% - its lowest level since 26 March.
News that the International Monetary Fund had raised its 2021 growth outlook for the global economy to 6%, up from January's forecast of 5.5% was also giving sentiment a slight boost. The IMF said: "A way out of this health and economic crisis is increasingly visible" but did, however, warn of "daunting challenges" given the varied pace of vaccine rollouts around the globe.
On the macro front, weekly mortgage applications decreased 5.1% week-on-week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, with an increase in the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances to 3.36% from 3.33% causing homeowners and potential homebuyers to hold off on borrowing for the time being.
Elsewhere, the US goods trade balance slipped from -$88.0bn to -$86.7bn in February, according to the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, while the prior month was revised to -$68.2bn from $67.8bn.
Still to come, minutes from last week's FOMC meeting will be published at 1900 BST and consumer credit change data for February were slated for release at 2000 BST.
In the corporate space, stocks reliant on an economic reopening like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Southwest American Airlines and United were all up early in the day's trading.