Stocks Opened Higher amid Economic Data

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Wednesday, as investors prepared for economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 55.50 points, or 0.26%, to21,808.81. The S&P 500 climbed 5.89 points, or 0.24%, to 2,463.74. The Nasdaq Composite gained 10.64 points, or 0.17%, to 6,386.21.

Oil prices on Wednesday held on to gains from the day prior on fears of potential damage to U.S. oil production from Hurricane Irma, as well as renewed demand for crude from restarted refineries in the Gulf Coast. West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude oil for October were trading up around 20 cents, or 0.4%, at $48.6 a barrel. Brent crude gained 50 cents, or 0.9%, to $53.88 a barrel.

The U.S. trade deficit increased slightly in July as exports slipped a bit more than imports. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the trade gap reached $43.7 billion in July, up from $43.5 billion in June. Exports declined $600 million to $194.4 billion, while imports slid $400 million to $238.1 billion.

Traders were more interested in the ISM nonmanufacturing data, a gauge of the service industry’s health, at 10 a.m. Eastern.