Stocks Opened Higher, Eyed on U.S.-China Trade

U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday as investors were encouraged by better headlines on U.S. – China trade talks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately advanced 98.01 points, or 0.36%, to 27,048.00. The S&P 500 rose 11.61 points, or 0.39%, to 3,003.39. The Nasdaq Composite gained 36.22 points, or 0.45%, to 8,148.68.

Oil futures pulled back Tuesday, under pressure as traders see signs that Saudi Arabia is making progress in restoring production following attacks on processing facilities as well as concerns over the global demand picture. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was of 53 cents, or 0.9%, at $58.11 a barrel. November Brent saw heavier pressure, falling 85 cents, or 1.3%, to $62.88 a barrel.

U.S. home price growth was unchanged in July.Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday that its S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index posted a 3.2% year-over-year increase in July, remaining the same from the previous month. The results beat analysts’ estimates of a 2.9% annual gain, according to Bloomberg.

On the U.S.-China trade front, circumstances improved ahead of Trump’s public remarks. The Chinese government granted new wavers to some state and private companies to purchase soybeans exempt from retaliatory tariffs, according to a Bloomberg report Tuesday morning.