Stocks Opened Higher; Fed Minutes Ahead

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Wednesday, ahead of the release of minutes from the most recent
meeting of the U.S. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately added 105.57 points, or 0.64%, to 16,479.88. The S&P 500 was up 10.63 points, or 0.57%, to 1,883.46. The Nasdaq Composite rose 23.74 points, or 0.58%, to 4,120.63.

Target’s first-quarter profit fell 16%, missing Wall Street estimates. Target’s net earnings of $418 million, or 66 cents a share, compared with $498 million, or 77 cents a share, in the same period last year.

Netflix said Wednesday that it would extend its European offerings beyond Britain, the Netherlands and Scandinavia to six additional countries, including Germany and France, this year.

Google passed on a potential $4-$5 billion deal for an unnamed foreign company late last year. The mystery deal was disclosed in a December letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission that Google released publicly for the first time on Tuesday.