Investing.com - U.S. stocks drifted higher in early trading on Wall Street, clawing back some of the prior session’s losses as traders evaluated the future path of monetary policy on both sides of the Atlantic.
At 9:40 AM ET (13:40 GMT), the Dow Jones gained 26 points, or 0.1%, to 26,176.42 points, the S&P 500 advanced 6 points, or 0.2%, to 2,884.05 points, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 10 points, or 0.1%, to 7,919.13 points.
After the market open, focus shifted to upcoming minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting on March 20. At 2:00PM ET (18:00 GMT), investors will get the details from when the central bank switched gears last month, not only saying it no longer expected to increase rates this year but also indicating that it plans to end the reduction of its balance sheet by September.
The minutes will arrive after U.S. inflation figures published ahead of the open that saw the headline consumer price index tick higher to 1.9% on an annualized basis, but the less volatile core CPI unexpectedly slow to 2.0%.
Muted inflation readings have been one of the core reasons the Fed has opted to take its “patient” policy approach, remaining particularly cautious due to concerns about a global slowdown and pending trade issues.
Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank made no changes to its own monetary policy, maintaining even lower interest rate levels than those in the U.S, as a result of its sluggish economy. The ECB, which surprised markets with its announcement of additional stimulus for banks in the form of low-cost loans, gave no further details of assistance for the financial sector.
Back in the States, big banks were also in the spotlight as their chief executives head to Washington to participate in a scheduled event, “Holding Megabanks Accountable: A Review of Global Systemically Important Banks 10 Years After the Financial Crisis”, with the House Committee of Financial Services.
Their testimony comes as JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) prepare to unofficially kick off the first-quarter earnings season. Both banks report on Friday.
In other company news, airlines capped market attention after positive earnings and guidance from Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and speculation that JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) may announce plans to begin transatlantic flights later on Wednesday.
Outside of equities, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rival currencies, rose 0.1% to 96.732 by 9:44 AM ET (13:44 GMT), while the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell 2.2 basis points to 2.477%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,310.35 a troy ounce, while crude oil traded up 0.7% at $64.43 a barrel.