US open: Stocks advance after Chinese data pleases

US stocks advanced early on Tuesday, as investors weighed better-than-expected data from China.

Just after 09:30 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 70 points, while the Nasdaq rose 0.6% and the S&P 500 was up by over just over two points.

China’s gross domestic product rose 7.3% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, more than the 7.2% growth that was expected. However, it marked the slowest economic growth in 24 years, while the country’s industrial production gained 8.3% year-on-year in December, compared to forecasts for a 8.2% increase.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its global inflation and growth forecasts for this year, indicating that growth in the US economy and the drop in oil prices will not suffice to cure the weaknesses evident in other economic blocks.

The IMF now expects growth of 3.5% this year, compared with the previous estimate of 3.8% which it made in October.
Following the news, West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 0.8% to $47.55 per barrel, according to the ICE.

In corporate news, Morgan Stanley fell almost 3% after the bank posted lower-than-expected fourth quarter profit and revenue, while Johnson & Johnson retreated after fourth quarter revenue missed analysts’ expectations.

Halliburton gained after reporting a rise in fourth-quarter profit, though it warned of challenges ahead in 2015, while Delta Air Lines climbed after posting fourth quarter earnings that beat analysts’ projections.

Twitter was a high riser after saying it would acquire Indian marketing firm ZipDial Mobile Solutions Pvt, while Michaels Cos rose after saying it expects a 3.5% in holiday sales.

Smith & Wesson Holding soared after raising its third quarter outlook saying it estimates third quarter sales to be between $124m and $126m, even though earnings dropped from $3.52bn to $2.52bn in the year-earlier period.

FXCM declined after detailing terms of its loan from Leucadia National Corp. amid news the currency brokerage was left battered by the Swiss central bank’s shock policy move.

Tuesday is a quiet day in terms of economic data, with the only notable release being the NAHB Housing Market Index for January, while Federal Reserve official Jerome Powell will speak on Libor in Washington at 15:00 GMT.

Gold futures advanced to 1,285.40, while the dollar lost 0.6% against the pound but rose over 0.7% against the yen and gained 0.07% against the euro.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell three basis points to 1.82%, while the yield on the five-year note shed two basis points to 1.76% and the yield on the 30-year treasuries fell 0.04 to 1.79%.