US open: Stocks edge higher as oil prices decline

US stocks edged higher on Tuesday, as investors built on the previous session's gains.

Just before 10:00 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.34%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 0.27% and 0.36% respectively.

On Monday, stocks were boosted by New York Fed’s president William Dudley, who reiterated that any decision to hike interest rates will be strictly linked to economic data.

“Traders in the US had the opportunity to respond to the non-farm payrolls figure and appear to have ignored the improvement in wage growth, despite the Fed’s constant reminders that wage growth and inflation remains its primary concerns,” said Oanda’s senior market analyst Craig Erlam.

Tuesday sees the release of the Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for February, with analysts citing the report as a good indication of future wage growth.

Job openings have increased in the last couple of months and, should the trend continue, the number of people quitting their job should increase as well, which would lead to companies having to pay more to hire people or to keep them employed.

“With slack in the economy having been significantly reduced, the coming year should bring better wage growth and therefore inflationary pressures, something the Fed is banking on if interest rates are to rise,” Erlam added.

In company news, delivery giant FedEx rose on news it had agreed to buy Dutch logistics company TNT Express as it seeks to expand its European operations.

Consultancy firm Accenture fell 0.03% after announcing a four-year deal with tech company Alcatel-Lucent, which rose 2.07%, and telecoms group Telefonica.

Under the deal, Alcatel's Motive Customer Experience Management software will available for Telefonica residential customers in European and Latin American countries.

Informatica Corp rose 4.4% on the news the company has been taken private by Permira Advisors LLC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $5.3bn.

The dollar gained 0.6% against the yen after a quiet session in Asia and rose 0.7% against the euro. The greenback was stable against the pound, while gold futures fell 0.57% to $1,211.60

Oil prices fell, with West Texas Intermediate losing 1.24% to $51.50 a barrel, while Brent crude declined 0.69% to $57.72 a barrel.