Stocks Edged Up in Early Going

U.S. stocks edged up in the early trading on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average lately rose 27.90 points, or 0.17%, to 16,747.29. The S&P 500 gained 4.31 points, or 0.22%, to 1,939.41. The Nasdaq Composite added 11.76 points, or 0.27%, to 4,396.97.

The global economic recovery will “strengthen modestly” through 2014 and into 2015, aided by central bank policies in the U.S. and other advanced economies that have expanded money supply, the International Monetary Fund predicts.

A rocky exit from low interest rates by the Federal Reserve risks $3.8 trillion of losses to global bond portfolios, the International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday in its latest global financial stability report.

Wal-Mart Stores plans to eliminate health insurance coverage for some of its part-time U.S. employees in a move aimed at controlling rising health care costs of the nation’s largest private employer.

Aerospace and aluminum prices have ratcheted up anticipation for Wednesday’s earnings report from Alcoa Alcoa, and the company’s surging stock price certainly heightens the hurdle for a good report.

This holiday season will bear witness to a digital shift in the retail world as more retailers and shoppers than ever embrace what’s known as the omnichannel experience.