Stocks Advanced Modestly at Open

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Tuesday, as traders awaited the results of midterm elections. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 75.71 points, or 0.30%, to 25,537.41. The S&P 500 added 12.31 points, or 0.45%, to 2,750.62. The Nasdaq Composite gained 64.77 points, or 0.88%, to 7,393.63.

Oil prices dipped again early Tuesday after the Trump administration a day earlier granted waivers to allow eight nations to continue buying Iranian crude as U.S.-driven economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic kicked in. West Texas Intermediate crude for December fell 31 cents, or 0.4%, to $62.79. January Brent crude fell 52 cents, or 0.7%, to $72.65 a barrel.

CVS Health Corp’s (CVS) third-quarter profit beat analysts’ estimates on Tuesday, as it benefited from higher sales of prescription drugs as well as consumer health and beauty products. The company said net income rose to $1.39 billion, or $1.36 per share, in the quarter ended Sept.30. Net revenue rose 2.4 percent to $47.27 billion.

Aqua America (WTR) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.44 per share, compared to earnings of $0.43 per share a year ago. It posted revenues of $226.14 million for the quarter ended September 2018.