US stocks open slightly higher

Stock indexes are edging higher in early trading as several companies make big moves on deal talk and other news.

Anheuser-Busch InBev jumped 7 percent after the company made a takeover approach to SABMiller, the owner of Miller and Peroni. Other beer makers also rose.

Hewlett-Packard rose 3 percent after announcing 30,000 job cuts, while FedEx sank 3 percent after posting results that fell short of analysts' forecasts.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 42 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,642 as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose five points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,983. The Nasdaq composite gained six points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,867.