US stocks edge higher as investors weigh China's COVID surge and reopening of its borders

• US stocks traded higher on Wednesday as investors weighed China reopening the country's borders. 
• Rising Covid-19 infections underscored the prospect of China exiting lockdown. 
• Visitors will no longer have to quarantine beginning January 8. 

US stocks edged higher on Wednesday as investors weighed rising COVID infections in China and the country's reopening efforts.

Oil prices slid after touching a three-week high in the previous session as traders growing concerned that Beijing is moving too quickly to reopen. China announced on Monday that incoming visitors into the country would no longer be required to quarantine starting January 8. 

Crude also fet pressure from news that Russia will ban oil sales to countries participating in the G7 led effort to cap prices starting February 1. Freezing domestic temperatures in the US over the past week has also hampered oil and gas production, and refiners in both North Dakota in Texas were working to resume normal operations at facilities afflicted by the arctic blast. 

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. market open on Wednesday: 

• S&P 500: 3,833.71, up 0.1%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,252.22, up 0.1% (11 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 10,365.12, up 0.1%

Here's what else is going on: 

• An investor who lost access to $1.3 millionn on FTX is still bullish in cryptos. 
• New York Times opinion columnist Paul Krugman compares Tesla stock to bitcoin. 
• Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are among billionaires who saw $400 billion worth of their wealth erased in 2022. 

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• Oil prices were mixed, with West Texas Intermediate ticking up 0.12% at $79.61 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 0.29% to $84.08 a barrel.
• Gold fell 0.43% to $1,805.84 per ounce.
• The 10-year yield fell 2.6 basis points to 3.832%.
• Bitcoin was flat with a 0.03% decline at $16,661.27.