U.S. stocks open higher ahead of Fed comments

U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, as investors awaited comments from the Federal Reserve officials.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 110.44 points, or 0.62 percent, to 17,843.19. The S&P 500 rose 10.17 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,091.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 23.33 points, or 0.46 percent, to 5,096.97.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and New York Fed President William Dudley were due to speak on the economy later Friday.

Meanwhile, investors were still sifting through the Federal Reserve's October meeting minutes released Wednesday afternoon.

According to the minutes, most participants anticipated that, based on their assessment of the current economic situation and their outlook for economic activity, the labor market, and inflation, these conditions could well be met by the time of the next meeting.

Most analysts believed that the U.S. central bank will begin raising interest rates next month.

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower after wavering between small gains and losses Thursday, as Wall Street digested economic data amid expectations of a December rate hike. Endi