US open: Stocks edge higher ahead of Fed meeting minutes

At 1434 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09%, the S&P 500 increased 0.14% and the Nasdaq gained 0.27%.

The market will be closely scrutinising the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s 15-16 March meeting at 1900 BST for more details behind the central bank’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged.

The market will also be searching for clues on the timing of the next interest rate increase.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen last Tuesday urged caution on raising interest rates amid concerns about global economic slowdown and low inflation.

Yellen’s dovish remarks prompted many analysts to rule out a rate hike in April, however more hawkish comments from other policymakers have caused confusion.

“The decision at the last meeting to revise its forecasts for hikes this year from four to two was welcomed by the markets but now seems we’re back in a position where the markets aren’t even convinced we’ll see a single rate hike this year,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

“Such is the conflicting comments coming from the different Fed officials on the economy and the outlook for interest rates that it’s difficult to see where a consensus on a rate hike is going to come from.”

Meanwhile, oil prices were in the black after the Kuwaiti governor for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Nawal Al-Fuzaia, expressed confidence that both OPEC and non-OPEC members will go ahead with plans to cut crude output at the upcoming meeting in Qatar.

West Texas Intermediate was up 2.3% to $36.76 a barrel and Brent crude was 1.9% higher at $38.61 at 1353 BST.

In economic data, the Mortgage Bankers’ Association revealed US mortgage applications rose 2.7% in the week to 1 April.

Still to come, the Department of Energy releases its weekly US crude inventories data at 1530 BST.

On the company front, Pfizer’s shares gained after the company confirmed on Wednesday that the merger agreement with Allergan has been terminated by mutual agreement after the US Treasury announced new measures to curb tax inversions.

In connection with the termination of the merger agreement, Pfizer has agreed to pay Allergan $150m for reimbursement of expenses associated with the transaction.

In currencies, the dollar was 0.95% higher versus the pound, 0.32% firmer against the euro and 0.03% up versus the yen.