US stock market opens higher as Fed rate hike fear wanes

NEW YORK (AA) - The stock market opened higher Friday as fears over the Federal Reserve began to wane and oil prices started to rise again.

The Dow Jones rose 31 points to begin the day at 17,466 points. The S&P 500 increased 5 points to open at 2,045, while the Nasdaq was up 19 points to begin the day at 4,731.

At the opening bell, the American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 0.5 percent to $48.91 per barrel and international benchmark Brent crude rose 0.3 percent to $48.96.

On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee's April meeting minutes revealed it "likely would be appropriate" to have a rate hike in June if U.S. macroeconomic data suggests an increase in economic growth and labor market conditions.

After the release of the minutes, the stock market fell on Wednesday and on Thursday, while a rise in value of the U.S. dollar against major currencies pushed oil prices lower for two days.