Stocks Opened Higher, Led by Tech and Consumer

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday, as technology and consumer shares gained. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 118.47 points, or 0.46%, to 25,704.16. The S&P 500 was up 13.20 points, or 0.47%, to 2,839.26. The Nasdaq Composite gained 50.50 points, or 0.66%, to 7,687.51.

Oil futures tipped higher on Tuesday, as traders awaited an OPEC update in coming weeks. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up 44 cents, or 0.7%, at $59.08 a barrel. July Brent added 15 cents, or 0.2%, at $70.25 a barrel.

Home price growth slowed in March but price increases are still rising almost twice as fast as inflation.Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday that its S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index posted a 3.7% annual gain in March, down from 3.9% in the previous month. It is the 12th straight month that home price growth has been on a decline.

Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) on Monday announced that it proposed a $35 billion merger with Renault SA (RNO.PA) in a deal that would create the world’s third-largest automaker, behind Toyota and Volkswagen.