U.S. stock benchmarks opened higher Wednesday with a rally in shares of technology and internet shares intact, putting the Nasdaq Composite on pace to log its third straight record, underlining a re-emergence of risk appetite for investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 124 points, or 0.5%, at 24,924 , with shares of Dow component UnitedHealth Group Inc. advancing 0.7% after the health-care company raised its quarterly dividend by 20%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index gained 0.2% at 2,755, while the Nasdaq traded up 0.2% at 7,652. In other corporate news, Tesla Inc. shares rose about 4% after CEO Elon Musk told shareholders that the electric-car maker was "quite likely" to meet its production goal of 5,000 Model 3 cars a week.