U.S. stocks trade higher in choppy trade after opening bell as investors await Fed minutes

Major U.S. stock benchmarks were up in choppy trade Wednesday morning, after opening lower, as investors await minutes from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting in early May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.10% was up 0.2%, while the S&P 500 SPX, +0.14% rose 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.05% gained 0.5%, FactSet data show, at last check. Investors will be searching the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, scheduled for release at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, for clues surrounding the Fed’s interest-rate policy as it aims to fight high inflation against the backdrop of slowing growth. New orders for durable goods rose 0.4% in April, according to a report Wednesday from the U.S. Census Bureau. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.7% increase.