US stock indices opened mixed on Wednesday but remained near record highs, following earlier data from the world's largest economy that showed an unexpected rise in existing home sales in May.
Otherwise, the Energy Information Administration released its report on US crude stocks, showing a drawdown of 2.5 million barrels in the week ending June 16, adding to the 1.7M drop in the previous reading, while analysts expected a 1.2% fall, with total stocks now reaching 509.1 million barrels, remaining within the upper range in average for this time of year.
US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin called on Congress to raise the debt limit as soon as possible, pointing to September as a good time to do it, while expecting tax reform plans to finish up later this year, saying the treasury ministry plans wide reforms beside taxes.
Mnuchin also talked about the surging value of the dollar, noting its negative impact on exports, while asserting that dollar's strength reflects the markets' confidence in the US administration and president Donald Trump's performance, and finally, Mnuchin said he didn't take a decision yet on whether to keep Yellen at her job as the Federal Reserve Governor or hire a different one.
As of 03:28 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.06%, or 1.45 points to 2,438.43, while Dow Jones shed 0.3%, or 6.82 points to 21,460.32.
Tech-heavy NASDAQ advanced 0.45%, or 27.58 points to 6,215.61.