U.S. stock benchmarks opened higher Wednesday morning, with Wall Street getting a boost from shares of Nike, even as investors weighed news that Congress was moving to an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was rising 100 points, or 0.4%, at 26,913, the S&P 500 index was trading 0.2% higher at 2.970, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.1% at 7,999.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she backed a move to go through wth impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, which had unsettled the investor mood briefly.

Meanwhile, a number of Federal Reserve speakers are due: Chicago Fed President Charles Evans will speak on the economic outlook and monetary policy at 8 a.m., followed by Kansas City Fed President Esther George and Fed Governor Lael Brainard both at 10 a.m. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will deliver an economic update later at 7 p.m.

In corporate news, Philip Morris International Inc and Altria Group Inc surprised the market early Wednesday with the news that they are ending their merger talks and will instead focus on launching a smokeless tobacco product in the U.S. Meanwhile, shares of Nike Inc were up 5.5% after the apparel and footwear maker on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings and sales that topped Wall Street expectations, including a jump in China.

Source : MarketWatch