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U.S. stocks open higher ahead of Yellen's testimony

Xinhua, June 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened higher Tuesday as Wall Street was awaiting the beginning of Fed Chair Janet Yellen's semi-annual testimony.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 22.39 points, or 0.13 percent, to 17,827.26. The S&P 500 added 2.78 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,086.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index went up 9.64 points, or 0.20 percent, to 4,846.85.

Yellen will kick off her two-day testimony before Congress with a session scheduled later Tuesday morning before the Senate Banking Committee. Investors will watch closely for clues on the timing of a next rate hike.

"We expect Yellen would spend most of her time fending off politicized attacks, but there might be a little bit of useful information revealed," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial.

After the conclusion of a two-day meeting last week, the U.S. central bank decided to keep its federal fund rate unchanged.

According to the statement released after the meeting, the Fed continued to lean toward hiking rates. However, the Fed's "dot plot", shows that six members now believe there will be just one rate hike this year, up from one member in March.

Meanwhile, Britain' referendum was also in focus, which is set for Thursday. The latest polls showed the Remain camp making gains after the killing of British politician Jo Cox. Endi