Stocks Opened Mostly Higher, Dow Popped Up

U.S. stocks opened mostly higher on Wednesday, despite recent announcements of tariff increases between the Trump administration and China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 122.54 points, or 0.47%, to 26,369.50. The S&P 500 was up 4.86 points, or 0.17%, to 2,909.17. The NASDAQ Composite was down 3.23 points, or 0.04%, to 7,952.88.

Oil futures traded little changed early Wednesday as traders digested a surprise build in U.S. stockpiles and weighed expectations for lower global output due to impending Iranian sanctions. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for October delivery rose 3 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $69.88 a barrel, while November Brent added a penny, or less than 0.1%, to trade at $79.04 a barrel.

U.S. home construction rebounded in August at the fastest pace in seven months but applications for new building permits plunged. Housing starts increased 9.2 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million units, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Application for building permits fell by 5.7 percent in August.