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U.S. stocks open higher ahead of Fed meeting

Xinhua, April 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Monday, extending gains from last week's rally, as investors are looking for clues on monetary policy from the Federal Reserve later in the week.

Traders will be closely watching the conclusion of the two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, starting Tuesday, for hints on the timing of an interest rate hike.

Some analysts expected that the Fed will not raise interest rates until September at the earliest, because of the recent string of weak data.

Wall Street also focused on Apple's financial results, which were due after the closing bell.

Strong results from tech giants pushed the Nasdaq Composite to end at 5,092.08 on Friday, its second straight record high close.

The Nasdaq set a new closing record for the first time in 15 years on Thursday, fueled by surges from tech corporations.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index refreshing their record closing highs, as major earnings reports came out generally positive.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 82.41 points, or 0.46 percent, to 18,162.55. The S&P 500 gained 6.10 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,123.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 15.87 points, or 0.31 percent, to 5,107.96. Endi