US open: Stocks trade higher as reopening plays continue to pick up gains

Wall Street stocks were slightly higher at the start of trading on Wednesday as stocks tied to an economic reopening advanced yet again.

As of 1520 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.12% at 34,354.89, while the S&P 500 was 0.10% stronger at 4,192.11 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.34% firmer at 13,702.95.

The Dow opened 42.43 points higher on Wednesday after major indices closed in the red in the previous session.

Reopening plays were again in focus at the bell on Wednesday, with the likes of Royal Caribbean and Carnival trading higher, while Coinbase shares were also in the green after favoured cryptocurrency bitcoin climbed back above $40,000.

Ford stock accelerated gains after the automotive giant vowed to increase its investment in electric vehicles by $30.0bn through 2025, while Urban Outfitters jumped on the back of better-than-expected quarterly results overnight.

Goings on in Washington will also be drawing an amount of investor attention, with market participants looking out for an infrastructure compromise that could help rally the economy further as Senate Republicans were set to send Joe Biden a nearly $1.0trn counteroffer to his plan.

Still on the Hill, the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were all slated to testify before the Senate Banking Committee throughout the morning.

On the macro front, total mortgage applications declined 4.2% in May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, a marked turnaround from the prior month's 1.2% increase as a slight uptick in interest rates from 3.15% to 3.18% halted refinancing efforts and weighed on overall demand.