NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks rose early Wednesday (Nov 1) following data showing strong US private-sector hiring and ahead of a Federal Reserve monetary policy announcement.

Private firms added 235,000 jobs in October, with strong gains in the services sector and a recovery in small businesses hit by the back-to-back summer hurricanes, according to ADP.

Investors are not expecting any big announcements from the Fed's policy statement, but it will be scrutinized for signs the US central bank remains on track to raise interest rates in December.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 23,498.66, up 0.5 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent to 2,587.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4 per cent to 6,756.05, following a record close on Tuesday.

Cosmetics company Estee Lauder shot up 11 per cent after reporting much higher sales and profits, with especially strong conditions in China and Hong Kong.

Profit in the first fiscal quarter of 2018 rose 45 per cent to US$427 million.

Video game developer Electronic Arts dropped 3.4 per cent on investor disappointment at the company's second-quarter earnings report, which included a loss of US$22 million and a 7 per cent rise in revenues to US$959 million.