Stocks Opened Higher, Eyed on Stimulus Developments

U.S. stocks open higher on Wednesday as lawmakers appeared to draw closer to an agreement for another round of virus-relief measures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 96.06 points, 0.32%, to 30,269.94. The S&P 500 added 8.07 points, or 0.22%, to 3,710.32. The Nasdaq Composite gained 7.20 points, or 0.06%, to 12,589.98.

Oil futures nudged higher Wednesday, finding support as traders remained optimistic about prospects for a new round of aid spending out of Washington while looking past data from an industry trade group showing a large rise in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery rose 14 cents, or 0.3%, to $45.74 a barrel. February Brent crude rose 24 cents, or 0.5%, to $49.08 a barrel.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement on Twitter that he offered a new $916 billion proposal to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), which he said “includes money for state and local governments and robust liability protections for businesses, schools and universities.”