US stock market opens higher ahead of Fed minutes

NEW YORK (AA) - The stock market opened higher Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's December meeting minutes.

The Dow added 41 points to begin the day at 19,923. The S&P rose seven points to 2,264.

The Nasdaq increased 16 points to open at 5,445.

The Fed's minutes from its December meeting will be announced later Wednesday, in which the market and investors will look for clues about the central bank's outlook for American economy and interest rates.

The bank increased its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points last month, and said it now expects three rate hikes this year, instead of the previous projection of two.