Stocks Opened Little Changed ahead of Fed Minutes

U.S. stocks opened little changed on Wednesday, as investors awaited minutes of the Federal Reserve’s November meeting and digested the latest round of economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 14.97 points, or 0.06%, to 23,575.86. The S&P 500 gained 0.43 point, or 0.02%, to 2,599.46. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.25 points, or 0.02%, to 6,863.73.

Oil prices shot higher on Wednesday on rising optimism that official U.S. supply data due later will show a drop in stockpiles. January crude climbed $1.08 cents, or 1.9%, to $57.92 a barre. January Brent rose 66 cents, or 1%, to $63.22 a barrel.

New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in October after three straight months of hefty gains. The Commerce Department said orders for non-defence capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, declined 0.5 percent last month.