US stocks open slightly higher on last day of 2014

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are opening slightly higher as investors prepare to close the books on 2014.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 45 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,028 as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose three points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,083 and the Nasdaq composite gained 13 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,790.

In Europe, Britain’s FTSE was up 0.2 percent and France’s CAC 40 was up 0.6 percent.

Energy stocks sank as the price of oil fell again. Chevron lost 1.3 percent, the most in the Dow.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.26 to $52.88 a barrel in New York. Oil has fallen 50 percent since June.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 2.18 percent.