Stocks Opened Lower, Oil Gained Slightly

U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday amid a lack of large market movements. The Dow John Industrial Average lately slipped 13.83 points, or 0.06%, to 22,104.59. S&P 500 edged lower 2.83 points, or 0.11%, to 2,478.08. The Nasdaq Composite fell 9.23 points, or 0.14%, to 6,374.55.

Oil prices were up slightly Tuesday on the back of reports that Saudi Arabia is planning to cut exports to Asia next month. Brent crude rose 0.5%, to $52.58 a barrel, in London midmorning trading. West Texas Intermediate futures were up 0.6%, at $49.63 a barrel.

Sentiment among small-business owners skyrocketed in July as customer demand improved, in spite of continued gridlock in Washington. The closely-watched sentiment gauge from the National Federation of Independent Business rose 1.6 points to 105.2, the group said Tuesday.

Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and sales as the luxury apparel maker kept a tight leash on discounting and inventory. The company’s net income was $59.5 million, or 72 cents per share, in the first quarter ended July 1, compared with a loss of $22.3 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned $1.11 per share, while sales fell 13.2 percent to $1.35 billion in the quarter.

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (KORS.N) reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Tuesday and lifted its annual revenue forecast as it opened more stores and benefited from strong demand in China. Same-store sales fell 5.9 percent in the first quarter ended July 1, compared with the 8.9 percent decline analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had expected. Total revenue dipped 3.6 percent to $952.4 million, but handily beat analysts’ average expectation of $918.6 million.

Plug Power Inc. (PLUG) on Tuesday reported a loss of $42.6 million in its second quarter. The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. It posted revenue of $22.6 million in the period, also missing Street forecasts.