U.S. stocks open higher ahead of Fed minutes

U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, as investor awaited the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve' s last meeting this afternoon.

Traders will look for more hints on the timing of an interest rate hike by the U.S. central bank. Wall Street widely expected the Fed to raise interest rates at its December meeting.

"The minutes may provide insight into the discussion behind the change, clarifying the intended message," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

On the economic front, U.S. privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.15 million, below market estimates, said the Commerce Department Wednesday.

In corporate news, Target announced better-than-expected quarterly earnings Wednesday before the opening bell. The retail giant said third quarter adjusted earnings per share of 86 cents was above the midpoint of the company' s guidance of 79 cents to 89 cents.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 85.01 points, or 0.49 percent, to 17,574.51. The S&P 500 was up 9.83 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,060.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 22.58 points, or 0.45 percent, to 5,008.59.

U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed after volatile trading Tuesday, as investors digested a batch of economic reports. Endite