US stocks rise in early trade ahead of Fed speakers

Major US equity indices opened higher on Wednesday as investor sentiment got a boost from recovery in crude oil prices ahead of a big dose of Federal Reserve speeches later during the day.

At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading higher by 32 points at 18,260, while the broader S&P 500 index rose 2 points to at 2,163. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 5 points to 5,310. 

Investors on Wednesday would be looking for clarity over the Fed's near-term monetary policy outlook as the Fed Chair Janet Yellen testifies on supervision and regulation before the Committee on Financial Services. Later during the day, comments from St. Louis Fed President Jim Bullard, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester would be looked upon for further clues over the timing of next Fed rate-hike action.

On the economic data front, US monthly durable goods orders remained flat in August but the market had a little impact from the report. Meanwhile, durable goods orders for July was revised lower to show a growth of 3.6% as compared to 4.4% reported earlier.

In other markets, crude oil rose as investors look forward to any news coming out of an informal meeting of major oil producers that most investors have been following closely.