Stocks are opening modestly higher on Wall Street as investors keep a close eye on a meeting of global finance ministers in Moscow.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 18 points to 13,992 shortly after the opening bell Friday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up two points at 1,523. The Nasdaq composite rose four points to 3,202.

Currency policy will be high on the agenda at the meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers. Japan's currency will be of particular interest because the country has been forcing the yen's value lower.

Herbalife rose 12 percent after billionaire investor Carl Icahn disclosed that he had accumulated a 13 percent stake in the company. Rival financier William Ackman has accused the company of being an elaborate pyramid scheme.