Stocks Opened Higher on Earnings and Inlation Data

U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday as investors welcomed better-than-expected quarterly results and as inflation data matched forecasts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 72.05 points, or 0.40%, to 18,158.45. The S&P 500 climbed 11.69 points, or 0.55%, to 2,138.19. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 46.06 points, or 0.89%, to 5,245.88.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said its quarterly earnings rose as the firm continues to rebound from a slow start to the year. The New York-based firm reported a profit of $2.09 billion, or $4.88 a share. That compares with $1.43 billion, or $2.90 a share, in the same period last year. Revenue grew to $8.17 billion from $6.86 billion a year earlier.

Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest maker of healthcare products, reported third-quarter revenue and profit just ahead of Wall Street estimates. The company said pharmaceutical drug sales jumped 9.2 percent to $8.40 billion.

The cost of living in the U.S. rose at the fastest pace in five months on energy and shelter prices, a sign inflation is getting closer to the Federal Reserve’s goal. The consumer price index climbed 0.3% last month.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, helped by signs that oversupply in the global market may be moderating ahead of a November meeting of OPEC producers that aims to curb crude oil output. Brent crude rose 46 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $52.00 a barrel by 1330 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 53 cents, at $50.47.