U.S. stocks keep rising ahead of Fed minutes

U.S. stocks traded higher in the morning session Wednesday, as Wall Street digested a batch of economic reports ahead of the release of Federal Reserve's minutes in the afternoon.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 177.16 points, or 1.09 percent, to 16,373.57. The S&P 500 jumped 26.80 points, or 1.41 percent, to 1,922.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 76.64 points, or 1.73 percent, to 4,512.59.

U.S. privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,099,000, missing market consensus, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

This is 3.8 percent below the revised December estimate of 1,143,000, but is 1.8 percent above the January 2015 rate of 1,080,000.

The seasonally adjusted Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand advanced 0.1 percent in January, beating market estimates, the U.S. Labor Department announced Wednesday.

On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index declined 0.2 percent for the 12 months ending in January.

U.S. industrial production increased 0.9 percent in January after decreasing 0.7 percent in December, said the Fed Wednesday. A storm late in January likely held down production in the month by a small amount.

Meanwhile, investors kept a close eye on the minutes from the U.S. central bank's Jan. 26-27 meeting, which were expected to give more clues on the U.S. economic outlook.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks posted solid gains after markets were closed Monday for Presidents' Day, as a rebound across the global equity market boosted investor sentiment. Endit