NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks opened higher on Monday ahead of highly-anticipated meetings of the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan. US stocks have been volatile so far in September as Fed officials have sent mixed signals on the likelihood of an imminent interest rate hike. Most analysts see little chance of an increase at the Fed meeting concluding Wednesday, but say a rate hike could come later in the year. There is also considerable interest in Wednesday’s BOJ decision because of the chance the bank will enact additional stimulus measures to boost growth. Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 18,211.04, up 0.5 per cent. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.4 per cent to 2,147.78, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4 per cent to 5,266.15.