Investing.com - U.S. stocks were higher early Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the U.S. remains in the mood to tighten monetary policy.
The Dow Jones was up 0.73% at 10:15 ET. The S&P 500 added 0.69%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite was up 0.85%.
In prepared remarks ahead of testimony to Congress, Yellen said the U.S. economy warrants further rate hikes despite inflation remaining below the Fed's 2% goal.
She said the central bank also remains on course to start unwinding its balance sheet this year.
The dollar index was firm after Yellen's remarks.
Oil held onto sharp gains as the Energy Information Administration' reported a bigger-than-expected fall in U.S. crude inventories.
(NYSE:Snap) steadied after falling below its IPO price in the wake of brokerage downgrades.