NEW YORK, May 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, as investors awaited the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting in May.
The Fed will release the minutes of the last meeting later Wednesday. The U.S. central bank left its benchmark interest rates unchanged earlier this month as it waited for more data to assess the country's economic outlook, but didn't signal any change to its balance sheet policy.
Wall Street paid attention on how the central bank might start shrinking its balance sheet of 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars and tried to find clues on its next move.
Fed policymakers are slated to meet next month and hinted at a possible rate hike in June.
Market expectations for a June rate hike were 78.5 percent, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool Wednesday.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 6.82 points, or 0.03 percent, to 20,944.73. The S&P 500 rose 2.28 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,400.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 9.59 points, or 0.16 percent, to 6,148.30.
U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, posting a four-day winning streak, as Wall Street kept an eye on President Donald Trump's first full budget plan. Enditem
