Stocks Opened Higher on Hopes of Economic Recovery

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday, as investors continued to eye states’ reopening plans and shrugged off news that consumer prices fell 0.8% in April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 96.90 points, or 0.40%, to 24,318.89. The S&P 500 added 3.60 points, or 0.12%, to 2,933.92. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 5.70 points, or 0.06%, to 9,198.04.

Oil futures edged higher Tuesday, finding support on hopes that falling production levels and a slow revival in demand as countries begin to loosen restrictions on movement will begin to drain a global glut of crude that has slammed prices in 2020. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery rose $1.38, or 5.7%, to $25.52 a barrel, while July Brent crude was up 89 cents, or 3%, at $30.52 a barrel.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday its consumer price index tumbled 0.8% last month after falling 0.4% last in March. That was the largest decline since December 2008, and marked the second straight monthly decrease in the CPI.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is set to begin buying corporate-bond, exchange-traded funds Tuesday, marking a historic expansion of the central bank’s efforts to support the economy and financial system during the most significant financial crisis in nearly a century sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.