U.S. Stocks Open Higher Ahead Of Fed Decision

U.S. stocks on Wednesday began trade tentatively higher as a key decision from the Federal Reserve, scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern Time, looms. The expected Fed policy update comes as the Bank of Japan announced Wednesday that it was refocusing its monetary-policy efforts to concentrate on keeping 10-year Japanese government-bond yield at zero in its latest initiative to juice its sluggish economy. Rising crude-oil prices also helped give an early lift to U.S. equity benchmarks, boosting energy-related shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 84 points, or 0.5%, at 18,211, the S&P 500 index rose 10 points, or 0.4%, at 2,149, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 21 points, or 0.4%, at 5,262. In corporate news, Viacom Inc. said Wednesday that it was ending its pursuit of a minority investor in Paramount Pictures and that its interim CEO Tom Dooley was set to leave the company Nov. 15.