The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 12.76 points, or 0.21 percent, to 6,151.47.
At 9:40 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) was up 4.52 points, or 0.02 percent, at 20,942.43, the S&P 500 (.SPX) was up 1.28 points, or 0.05 percent, at 2,399.7 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) was up 6.17 points, or 0.1 percent, at 6,144.88. Amazon rose $13.03, or 1.3 percent, to $993.38. The Fed's preferred gauge of price pressures fell to 1.8 percent in March from 2.1 percent the month before and the core index, which excludes energy and food, dipped to 1.6 percent.
May 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were modestly higher late on Wednesday morning, aiming for a fifth straight day of gains, as investors awaited Federal Reserve minutes of its May meeting that could cement the chances of an interest rate hike next month.
The Federal Reserve may begin later this year to shrink a balance sheet that swelled to $4.5 trillion after the financial crisis, using a system of gradually increasing caps to salve concerns about how much liquidity would be pulled from markets each month. However many within the FED said that "it would be prudent" to see whether the brief economic slowdown in the past month (particularly in retail) was transitory.
USA equities traded higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 erasing losses from its biggest sell-off of the year.
Following the minutes, the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield US10YT=RR fell to 2.255 percent from Wednesday's high of 2.297 percent.
Oil stocks are also mostly lower after crude oil prices declined overnight.
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The Maute group reportedly occupied several establishments in Marawi City, including a hospital and a city jail. Other officials said a security guard and two policemen were also killed, including the beheaded police chief.
Benchmark U.S. crude lost 11 cents to settle at $51.36 per barrel in NY while Brent crude, used to price worldwide oils, sank 19 cents to $53.96 a barrel in London.
Aristocrat Leisure reported a 57 percent surge in profit for the first half of the year and reiterated its full-year earnings outlook.
Electronics retailer Best Buy soared after it issued a strong first-quarter report, including better sales of mobile devices and gaming products.
OIL: Crude oil prices declined for the second day in a row as the members of OPEC and other key oil-producing nations met in Vienna to discuss extending their production cut from past year.
The dollar index held steady against a basket of six currencies at 97.321 after bouncing 0.4 percent the previous day. Microsoft rose 85 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $69.62 and Google parent Alphabet also neared the millennial mark as it gained $14.25, or 1.5 percent, to $991.86. Those nations are expected to extend last year's production cut in a concerted attempt to prevent oil prices from falling.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 11 cents to settle at $51.36 per barrel in NY while Brent crude, used to price global oils, sank 19 cents to $53.96 a barrel in London. On the other hand, Asian automakers Toyota fell by 0.27 percent and Honda also trailing by 1.28% today, while the Indonesian market was closed for the holiday.
A cautious tone in the Federal Reserve minutes supported gold, although gains were limited as the dollar was able to show some underlying resilience against major currencies. The euro edged up to $1.1194 from $1.1185.
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