Stocks Opened Higher ahead of U.S.-China Deal Signing

U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, as investors monitored another batch of corporate earnings results and waited for an early trade deal between the U.S. and China to be signed later in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 106.94 points, or 0.37%, to 29,046.61. The S&P 500 gained 10.81 points, or 0.33%, to 3,293.96. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 37.20 points, or 0.40%, to 9,288.53.

Oil futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors digested a monthly report from OPEC that forecasts increased global demand and a weekly report that showed a climb in U.S. inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was off 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $58.17 a barrel, while March Brent shed 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $64.35 a barrel.

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) reported fourth-quarter earnings that topped expectations. Net income was $6.75 billion, or 74 cents a share, compared with $7.04 billion, or 70 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Total revenue slipped 1.4% to $22.35 billion, from $22.68 billion.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) reported a fourth-quarter profit that fell well short of expectations, while revenue beat. Net income fell to $1.72 billion, or $4.69 a share, from $2.32 billion, or $6.04 a share, in the year-earlier period. Investment banking revenue slipped 6% to $2.06 billion, global markets revenue rose 33% to $3.48 billion and consumer and wealth management revenue increased 8% to $1.41 billion.

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