US stocks open higher

New York, Nov 21 (IANS) US stocks opened higher as investors awaited comments from the Federal Reserve officials.

Shortly after the opening bell on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 110.44 points, or 0.62 percent, to 17,843.19, Xinhua reported.

The S&P 500 rose 10.17 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,091.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 23.33 points, or 0.46 percent, to 5,096.97.

St. Louis Fed president James Bullard and New York Fed president William Dudley were due to speak on the economy later on Friday.

Meanwhile, investors were still sifting through the Federal Reserve’s October meeting minutes released on Wednesday afternoon.

According to the minutes, most participants anticipated that, based on their assessment of the current economic situation and their outlook for economic activity, the labour market, and inflation, these conditions could well be met by the time of the next meeting.

Most analysts believed that the US central bank will begin raising interest rates next month.

US stocks ended slightly lower after wavering between small gains and losses on Thursday, as Wall Street digested economic data amid expectations of a December rate hike.