Stocks opened higher Wednesday, one day after aluminum producer Alcoa kicked off the quarterly earnings season with a report that met expectations.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 33.55 points (0.25 percent) at 13,362.40.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 4.26 (0.29 percent) to 1,461.41, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 7.62 (0.25 percent) at 3,099.43.
Alcoa, considered an economic bellwether because of its role in industrial production, posted an in-line profit of $0.06 per share after trade closed Tuesday.
Briefing analyst Patrick O'Hare said the market may take a "wait-and-see" approach Wednesday as it awaits a Thursday meeting of the European Central Bank and public comments from Federal Reserve officials.
