Stock Closed Slightly Higher after Fed Minutes

U.S. stocks closed slightly higher on Wednesday after investors digested the Fed’s mid-March meeting minutes against recent weak economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27.09 points, or 0.15%, to 17,902.51. The S&P 500 was up 5.57 points, or 0.27%, to 2,081.90. The Nasdaq Composite added 40.59 points, or 0.83%, to 4,950.82.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials acknowledged risks from overseas and a weak start to the year at their March meeting but remained confident enough in the strength of the recovery to continue laying the groundwork for an interest rate hike later this year, according to minutes from the meeting released on Wednesday.

Alcoa Inc. (AA) on Wednesday reported first-quarter net income of $195 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. On a per-share basis, the New York-based company said it had profit of 14 cents. Earnings, adjusted for restructuring costs and non-recurring costs, came to 28 cents per share.

Oil prices dived 6 percent on Wednesday after closing at their highest this year, as a mammoth rise in U.S. crude stockpiles and news of record Saudi oil production scuttled talk of a sustained recovery. Brent May crude fell $3.55, or 6 percent, to settle at $55.55 a barrel. U.S.