Wall Street gains as oil rebounds, Fed on tap

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher on Wednesday, boosted by energy shares as oil prices rebounded and before Federal Reserve released its assessment of the economy later on Wednesday.

The Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest-rate policy, will release minutes of its April 26-27 meeting at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT). Investors will look for hints about the Fed's "QE2" stimulus program, which is widely expected to end in June, and will scrutinize any disagreements among officials.

U.S. crude oil futures rose nearly 3 percent after a weekly government report showed inventories of crude fell slightly in the United States last week as refinery utilization rose.

Chevron Corp gained 1.7 percent to $102.16 as the top boost to the Dow and Exxon Mobil Corp advanced 1.4 percent to $81.54. The PHLX oil service sector index <.OSX> climbed 2.2 percent and the S&P energy index <.GSPE> added 1.6 percent as the top performing S&P sector.

"Today you had some decent data -- it seems you are getting a little bit of a relief rally in commodities, just given the magnitude of the selloff the last few days or weeks," said Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners in New York.

"You are going to see that certainly through the summer -- you are definitely going to see heavy correlation (between stocks and commodity prices)."

Recent soft economic data has put investors on the defensive, increasing uneasiness about the strength of the recovery and sending the benchmark S&P 500 down 2.3 percent for the month. Data on Tuesday showed weakness in factory output and housing starts.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 16.23 points, or 0.13 percent, to 12,495.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 5.40 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,334.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 13.60 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,796.81.

Dell's shares climbed 4.5 percent to $16.10 after the PC manufacturer reported profits late on Tuesday that exceeded expectations. The company also raised its fiscal 2012 outlook for operating income.

But Staples Inc's shares tumbled 15.5 percent to $16.60 as the biggest drag on the S&P 500 after the office supply retailer slashed its full-year outlook on weak demand and higher costs.

Through Wednesday, 471 of the S&P 500 have reported earnings, with 69 percent posting results that beat Wall Street estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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