Stocks Opened Higher, Shrugging off Coronavirus Worries

U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday as investors tried to shake off worries about an Asian flu outbreak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately gained 90.48 points, or 0.31%, to 29,286.52.  The S&P 500 added 12.14 points, or 0.37%, to 3,332.93. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 50.51 points, or 0.54%, to 9,421.32.

Oil futures were under pressure on Wednesday, with fears of an oversupply of crude outweighing a disruption to Libyan production. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery fell 37 cents, or 0.6%, to $58.01 a barrel, while March Brent crude lost 36 cents, or 0.6%, to trade at $64.23 a barrel.

Chinese officials said hospitals are stepping up preventive measures and moving to discourage movement into and out of Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus originated, The Wall Street Journal reported.