Stocks Opened Higher, Oil Prices Added to Gains

U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, helped by gains in technology and consumer stocks, as investors appeared to shrug off weaker-than-expected housing data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 46.46 points, or 0.22%, to 21,028.40. The S&P 500 added 2.17 points, or 0.09%, to 2,404.49. The Nasdaq Composite was up 9.39 points, or 0.15%, to 6,159.07.

Crude oil futures were up Tuesday, as expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will extend production cuts until early next year continued to boost trading sentiment. Light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June traded at $48.99 a barrel, up 14 cents, or 0.3%. July Brent crude rose 13 cents, or 0.3%, to $51.95 a barrel.

U.S. homebuilding unexpectedly fell in April to the lowest level in five months amid persistent weakness in the construction of multi-family housing units, suggesting a slowdown in the housing market recovery. Housing starts dropped 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units also as single-family homebuilding rebounded modestly, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.

Industrial production in April grew at the fastest monthly rate in more than three years, on the back of broad-based gains in the manufacturing sector. The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that industrial production grew 1% in April.

Home Depot Inc (HD.N), the No. 1 U.S. home improvement chain, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and same-store sales on Tuesday, as customers spent more in its stores. Home Depot’s net income rose to $2.01 billion, or $1.67 per share, in the first quarter ended April 30, from $1.80 billion, or $1.44 per share, a year earlier. Net sales increased 5 percent to $23.89 billion.

Ford Motor is planning to cut about 10 percent of its jobs around the world as the beleaguered automaker makes a new push to increase profits and lift a stock that is lagging near a five-year low.