Wall Street opens higher on stimulus hopes

US stocks opened higher on Wednesday after comments from a Federal Reserve official suggested the central bank may hold back on slowing its stimulus for longer than currently anticipated.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 48.00 points, or 0.31%, at 15,666.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 5.08 points, or 0.29%, at 1,768.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 13.93 points, or 0.35%, at 3,953.80.