Wall Street edges up at open after Yellen's statement

Wall Street opened slightly higher on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reinforced the US central bank's plan to scale back its market-friendly stimulus while noting the health of the labour market needed to improve.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 32.94 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 15,834.73.

The S&P 500 gained 1.94 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 1,801.78.

The Nasdaq Composite added 8.868 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 4,157.042.

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