U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday as investors hoped that COVID-19 vaccine rollouts and a bigger fiscal aid would help the world's largest economy recover from a pandemic-fueled slump in 2021.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79.42 points, or 0.26%, at the open to 30,415.09. The S&P 500 opened higher by 9.15 points, or 0.25%, at 3,736.19, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 56.29 points, or 0.44%, to 12,906.51 at the opening bell.