US open: Dow Jones trades higher as major banks raise dividends

Wall Street trading started off on a mostly positive note on Tuesday after the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to its highest level since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in June and several big-name US banks hiked their dividends.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.41% at 34,423.68, while the S&P 500 was 0.16% firmer at 4,297.33 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.06% weaker at 14,491.09.

The Dow opened 140.41 points higher on Tuesday, taking a big bite out of losses recorded in the previous session.

Bank stocks pushed the Dow into the green at the open on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley doubled its quarterly dividend and launched a $12.0bn buyback programme, while Wells Fargo will also double its dividend and Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan will increase theirs.

Boeing shares were also flying higher after United Airlines committed to purchasing 200 737 Max planes, while Facebook shares slipped after having picked up solid gains in the previous session on the back of a US judge's decision to dismiss an antitrust suit brought against the social media behemoth.

On the macro front, house prices in the US continued to bound ahead at a quicker than expected clip in April, with the Federal Housing Finance Agency's house price index jumping at a month-on-month pace of 1.8% - ahead of consensus estimates for a reading of 1.7% and an upwardly revised 1.6% gain for March. The annual growth rate increased to 15.7% as a result.

Similarly, Standard&Poor's CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, which was published alongside the FHFA measure, advanced by 2.11% on the month (consensus: 1.8%).

Elsewhere, following gains in the previous four months, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index improved again in June, advancing to 127.3 from an upwardly revised reading of 120.0 for May.

Elsewhere, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond president Tom Barkin said the central bank would be ready to start tapering just as soon as what he called "substantial further progress" on employment had been met.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.