Stocks Opened Slightly Higher as Markets Stabilized

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday, as trading stabilizes a day after a plunge in China unsettled investors around the globe. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately added 8.29 points, or 0.05%, to 17,157.23. The S&P 500 gained 2.81 points, or 0.14%, to 2,015.47. The Nasdaq Composite was up 7.45 points, or 0.15%, to 4,910.54.

The U.S. Justice Department has sued Volkswagen for up to $90 billion for allegedly violating environmental laws – five times regulators’ initial estimate and a reminder of the carmaker’s problems nearly four months after its emissions scandal broke.

U. S. auto sales were expected to reach a record high of 17.5 million in 2015, topping the old record of 17.35 million set in 2000. Automakers report December and full-year sales Tuesday.

Crude oil prices reversed earlier gains Tuesday, as concerns about an expanding global glut weighed on sentiment, even as tensions in the Middle East remained high. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February were down 8 cents, or 0.2%, at $36.68 a barrel.

Eli Lilly has dropped a lower-than-expected 2016 forecast on Wall Street after wrapping up a year in which its stock soared above the broader market. The drugmaker said Tuesday it expects adjusted earnings in the new year to range between $3.45 and $3.55 per share, excluding charges like deal integration costs. It predicts revenue of between $20.2 billion and $20.7 billion.