U.S. stocks extend gains ahead of Fed minutes

NEW YORK, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded higher in the morning session Wednesday as investors awaited the minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting to be released in the afternoon.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40.81 points, or 0.16 percent, to 24,864.82. The S&P 500 added 11.58 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,707.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 43.36 points, or 0.62 percent, to 7,050.26.

In December, the U.S. central bank raised the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, the third increase in 2017. The Fed suggested three more rate hikes in 2018, citing an upbeat assessment of the overall economy and job market.

The Fed also raised the economic growth forecast and expects the U.S. economy to grow 2.5 percent both in 2017 and 2018, higher than the previous forecast in September which projected a 2.4 percent growth for 2017 and 2.1 percent increase for 2018.

Investors are expected to sift through the minutes for more clues on how the U.S. economy is performing.

On the economic front, U.S. economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in December, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said Wednesday.

The December PMI registered 59.7 percent, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the November reading of 58.2 percent and beating market consensus.

Meanwhile, U.S. construction spending during November 2017 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,257 billion U.S. dollars, 0.8 percent above the revised October estimate.

U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index closing above 7,000 points for the first time, as Wall Street kicked off 2018 on a high note. Enditem