Wall Street opens higher with finance leading charge

US stock indices opened the third session of the week higher with the financial sector leading the charge higher following upbeat data from some major corporations, and after a deal worth tens of billions in the tech sector boosted stocks to four-week highs. 

Fiserv, provider of financial tech services, announced the acquisition of payment provider First Data in a $22 billion deal, the largest one in the financial technology sector so far, while results by Bank of America and Goldman Sachs surprised on the upside. 

Earlier US data showed import prices fell 1.0%, compared to a 1.9% drop in November, while beating estimates of a 1.3% drop. 

Markets now await the Beige Book, which is released two weeks before the Federal Reserve's meeting and upon which, policymakers base their decisions and forecasts. 

Stock Performance 

As of 02:56 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.42%, or 10.97 points to 2,621.27, while Dow Jones rallied 0.56%, or 135.52 points to 24,201.11. 

Tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied 0.68%, or 47.80 points to 7,071.64.