U.S. stocks rise amid Fed meeting minutes, data

U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday as market participants digested the Federal Reserve's January meeting minutes and the latest slew of economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115.84 points, or 0.40 percent, to 29,348.03. The SP 500 was up 15.86 points, or 0.47 percent, to 3,386.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 84.44 points, or 0.87 percent, to 9,817.18.

Seven of the 11 primary SP 500 sectors closed higher, with both energy and technology up more than one percent, leading the gainers. Real estate declined by 1.36 percent, the worst-performing group.

Apple shares closed up 1.45 percent, contributing to the market gains. The stock struggled in the previous session after the company issued a warning over its quarterly revenue.

The U.S. central bank released the minutes from its January meeting Wednesday afternoon.

Participants generally judged that the current stance of monetary policy was appropriate to support the sustained expansion of economic activity, the minutes showed.

On the data front, the U.S. producer price index (PPI) rose by 0.5 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.

U.S. housing starts dropped by 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.567 million units last month, the Commerce Department said.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)