U.S. stocks open higher ahead of Fed meeting

U.S. stocks opened higher Monday as Wall Street awaited the Federal Reserve' s two-day policy meeting scheduled to begin Tuesday.

Investors kept a close eye on the Fed' s policy meeting for more clues on the timing of a next rate hike. Analysts widely hold that the Fed would keep interest rate unchanged in this meeting.

On the economic front, U.S. personal income increased 46.7 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.3 percent, in September, missing market consensus of a 0.4-percent gain, according to Commerce Department on Monday.

Disposable personal income increased 37.0 billion dollars, or 0.3 percent, and personal consumption expenditures increased 61.0 billion dollars, or 0.5 percent.

In corporate news, shares of Honda Motor Co. rose over 1 percent in the early trading Monday after the company raised its full-year forecast.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24.72 points, or 0.14 percent, to 18,185.91. The S&P 500 gained 3.67 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,130.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 14.79 points, or 0.28 percent, to 5,204.89.

On Friday, U.S. stocks retreated further as investors digested the news of the country' s stronger-than-expected third-quarter economic growth amid generally downbeat earnings reports. Endi