Stocks hold higher amid oil gains; Fed minutes eyed

U.S. equities traded higher on Wednesday as oil prices rebounded, while investors also looked ahead to the release of the Federal Reserve's October meeting minutes.

"I think we're pretty much in lockstep with oil as we await the Fed minutes," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.

The Dow Jones industrial average briefly rose over 100 points in midmorning trade, with Apple (AAPL) and Goldman Sachs (GS) contributing most of the gains.

Apple's stock rose about 3 percent after Goldman released a note saying the company's shares will rise 43 percent in the next 12 months.

The S&P 500 received a boost from energy, which rose 1 percent.

U.S. crude gained about 1 percent to hold above $41 a barrel, a day after closing $1 lower. Internationally traded Brent crude also rose about 1 percent to hold over $44 a barrel.

"Definitely oil is a concern because we're close back to the August lows," said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab. "Anything below $40 starts to make the markets very nervous."

Last week, oil prices took a sharp turn lower following the release of U.S. inventories data. New data is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Regarding the Fed minutes — due out at 2 p.m. ET — Hogan said he does not expect any major surprises. "We know there was a dissenter," he said. " What we don't know is how dovish the other members were."

"Sometimes the Fed minutes can reveal something that wasn't revealed after the meeting," Frederick said.

Investors also kept an eye on the ongoing situation in Paris.

"I kind of suspect what we're seeing here is what happened on Monday with the situation in Paris," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial.

French police carried out a large-scale operation in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Wednesday morning, which lasted nearly six hours.

Officials said Abdelhamid Abaaoud — believed to be the mastermind who coordinated and ordered the attacks — was the target of the raids, which saw at least one woman killed after she detonated a suicide bomb. Speaking in Paris, French President Francois Hollande confirmed that two people died during the operation, the second being a man according to the Paris prosecutor, though further details have yet to be released.

The successful raid "sort of puts in the sense that the G-20 is taking a unified stance," Cardillo said.

U.S. futures traded near the flatline for most of the morning before turning higher on the heels of Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker's comments. In an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box," Lacker said any economic impact from the terrorist attacks in Paris would likely be transitory.

Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhard said Wednesday the central bank should start raising rates now that financial markets have "settled down."