[Screen Shot 2016 05 25 at 10.22.49 AM copy] Stocks opened higher and are rallying strong in early trading for a second straight day. Near 10:11 a.m. ET, the Dow was up 160 points (0.91%), the S&P 500 was up 16 points and just seven points shy of 2,100 (0.8%), and the Nasdaq was up 31 points (0.66%). The big news overnight was that the People's Bank of China fixed the Chinese yuan to the lowest level since March 2011. The PBoC set the midpoint of its yuan fix at 6.5468 per dollar, down 0.34% from Tuesday. The bank is looking to soften the blow of a possible interest-rate hike in June by the Federal Reserve. Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar, that the PBoC will ask the Fed in annual talks next month about the timing of the next rate hike. Crude oil prices inched closer to $50 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures in New York gained 1.65% to $49.43. The Energy Information Administration reported a weekly draw in inventories by 4.226 million barrels, which was more than forecast. HP Enterprise shares surged as much as 10% after-hours on Tuesday after the company announced plans to spin off its enterprise services unit. In early trading Wednesday, the utilities sector was the only one on the S&P 500 in decline. Financials led gains and Goldman Sachs topped the Dow with a 2.8% rally. In US economic data, the FHFA's house price index rose 0.7% in March, more than expected. But on a quarterly basis, the pace of home-price appreciation slowed down although there were gains for a 19th straight period. And, Markit's flash services PMI came in at 50.8. It was weaker than expected, as optimism among service providers fell to the lowest level in six and a half years. SEE ALSO: CHINA JUST FIXED THE YUAN TO ITS WEAKEST LEVEL SINCE 2011 — HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN FX Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: The single largest threat to the global economy
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