By Abhiram Nandakumar
REUTERS - Wall Street was marginally higher on Wednesday, helped by a rise in energy and healthcare stocks, as investors awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting on monetary policy in March.
U.S. crude jumped more than 4 percent, helping prop up energy stocks, after data suggested a smaller-than-expected rise in crude inventories for last week.
Investors, who have been grappling with mixed signals on interest rates from Fed officials, will parse the minutes to gain insight into the central bank's thinking on the economy. The minutes are due at 2 p.m. ET (1600 GMT).
While Fed Chair Janet Yellen has taken a cautious stance, some officials have supported an aggressive plan to raise rates as data points to resilience in the U.S. economy.
"This market is climbing a 'wall of worry' and we are seeing a bit of resistance right now, with the market digesting the advances it recently saw," said Sam Stovall, U.S. equity strategist at S&P Global Market Intelligence in New York.
"It's going to be looking for some sort of catalyst to help propel it forward and maybe that catalyst will be earnings coming in better than expected," he said.
A recent rally - sparked by rising oil, strength in the economy and a cautious Fed - helped stocks recover from a steep selloff that had sent the S&P 500 down more than 10 percent earlier this year. The index closed flat for 2016 on Tuesday.
Several Fed officials are slated to speak on Wednesday, including Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester and her St. Louis counterpart James Bullard. Both are voting members of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee.
At 11:01 a.m. ET (1301 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was up 47.33 points, or 0.27 percent, at 17,650.65, the S&P 500 was up 9.43 points, or 0.46 percent, at 2,054.6 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 32.84 points, or 0.68 percent, at 4,876.77.
Six of the 10 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a 1.54 percent rise in the healthcare sector. The S&P energy sector rose 1.36 percent.
Pfizer shares rose 2.9 percent to $32.27 after new rules aimed at curbing tax inversions effectively killed its $160 billion merger with Allergan. Allergan rose 3.2 percent to $244.09.
Cree shares sank 15 percent to $24.69 after the LED maker forecast third-quarter results below analysts' estimates.
Constellation Brands rose 4.3 percent to $157.92 after reporting higher-than-expected quarterly sales.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,853 to 966. On the Nasdaq, 1,632 issues rose and 887 fell.
The S&P 500 index showed five new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 19 new highs and 13 new lows.
(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
