Stocks Opened Higher, Lifted by Korea Talks

U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday with sentiment lifted following encouraging headlines from talks between North and South Korea. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately gained 21.23 points, or 0.09%, to 24,895.99. The S&P 500 rose 2.76 points, or 0.10%, to 2,723.70. The Nasdaq Composite gained 28.27 points, or 0.39%, to 7,358.97.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, supported by stock market gains in Europe and Asia. West Texas Intermediate futures gained 60 cents, or 1%, to $63.17 a barrel. Brent crude rose 49 cents, or 0.7%, to $66.03 a barrel.

Target Corp reported a better-than-expected 3.6 percent rise in comparable sales in the fourth quarter, helped by traffic at its stores and website. Excluding items, Target earned a profit of $1.37 per share in the quarter ended Feb.3. Sales rose 10 percent to $22.77 billion.

The Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust lawsuit on Monday challenging J.M. Smucker Co.’s purchase of the Wesson cooking oil brand from Conagra Brands Inc., alleging the deal would mean higher prices for canola and vegetable oils.