• The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 43.08 points, or 0.21 percent, to 20,937.91, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.4 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,398.42 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 5.09 points, or 0.08 percent, to 6,138.71.
Wall Street ended higher on Tuesday after the release of President Donald Trump's budget plan but gains were tempered by declines in consumer discretionary stocks amid weakness in auto-parts companies.
• While Tuesday's economic data was weak, investors were relieved Trump's first full budget plan was largely as expected, even if it is not expected to be approved in Congress.
• Trump's budget called for a hike in infrastructure and military spending, along with a raft of politically sensitive cuts, in areas such as healthcare and food assistance programs, with the aim of chopping government spending by $3.6 trillion and balancing the budget over the next decade.
• Major indexes in Asia opened higher on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to U.S. Federal Reserve views on interest rate hike prospects and await an upcoming OPEC meeting widely expected to extend production cuts for nine months to March 2018.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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