Stocks Opened Slightly Higher

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Wednesday, helped by gains in healthcare stocks and a slight rise in technology shares.The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 7.12 points, or 0.03%, to 24,739.09. The S&P 500 was up 1.87 points, or 0.07%, to 2,682.37. The Nasdaq Composite gained 9.80 points, or 0.14%, to 6,946.05.

Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday, a day after reaching levels not seen in more than 2 years after a pipeline explosion in Libya. February West Texas Intermediate oil was down 24 cents, or 0.4%, at $59.73 a barrel. February Brent fell 33 cents, or 0.5% to $66.71 a barrel.

Homeowners in states with the highest property taxes are looking to prepay 2018 bills ahead of a $10,000 cap on the deduction for state and local levies, including property taxes, in the GOP tax overhaul President Donald Trump just signed.

China’s Geely Holding , owner of the Volvo car brand, is buying an 8.2 percent stake in Swedish truckmaker AB Volvo (VOLVb.ST) from activist investor Cevian Capital, worth around $3.3 billion at current market prices.