Stocks Opened Higher; Carmaker in the Spotlight

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday, as carmakers will be in the spotlight as monthly sales figures are released. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately added 31.37 points, or 0.18%, to 17,808.17. The S&P 500 was up 2.86 points, or 0.14%, to 2,056.30. The Nasdaq Composite gained 8.35 points, or 0.18%, to 4,735.70.

Chrysler’s U.S. sales rose 20 percent last month a sign that Black Friday promotions and falling gas prices drove U.S. auto sales higher in November. Chrysler sold nearly 171,000 vehicles to post its best November in 13 years.

While OPEC is helping drive down global prices for crude, it’s having less success squeezing the $250 billion clean power industry. Green energy will receive almost 60 percent of the $5 trillion expected to be invested in new power plants over the next decade, according to the International Energy Agency.

Amazon will deploy more than 15,000 wheeled robots to crisscross the floors of its biggest warehouses and deliver stacks of toys, books and other products to employees.