US stocks close slightly higher after Fed minutes

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(Close): US markets closed slightly higher on Wednesday, after the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve's March meeting showed the central bank was torn over an interest rate rise.

The Dow Jones rose 27.09 points to 17,902.51, while the S&P 500 gained 5.57 points to finish at 2,081.90.

The tech-based Nasdaq added 40.59 points to close at 4,950.82.

Oil stocks were hit after a report showed a surprise increase in US oil supplies.

A report by the American Petroleum Institute showed US crude oil supplies increased by 12.2 million barrels last week, compared to an analyst estimate of 3.4 million barrels.

That sent the price of Brent crude lower by 3% to $56.02 per barrel and the price of US oil - known as West Texas Intermediate Crude - down by 2.8% to $50.89.

Shares in oil firms Exxon and Chevron fell by nearly 2%, and were further threatened by Shell's move to buy BG Group in a £47bn deal.

Metal giant Alcoa kicked off the start of US earnings season when it reported a first-quarter profit of $195m.