US open: Stocks mostly higher as investors wade through earnings avalanche

US stocks were mostly higher at the open on Tuesday as investors waded through an avalanche of earnings and digested a better-than-expected reading on US consumer confidence.

At 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5% to 21,612.15, the S&P 500 was 0.3% firmer at 2,478.21 and the Nasdaq was flat at 6,411.30 as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting.

The mood was underpinned by some encouraging data, as the latest figures from the Conference Board showed US consumer confidence unexpectedly rose to a four-month high in July. The confidence index increased to 121.1 from 117.3, beating expectations for a drop to 116.5.

Capital Economics said: "The small rise in the Conference Board measure of consumer confidence takes it to its second highest reading in 16 years and suggests that consumption growth will accelerate in the second half of the year."

Meanwhile, there was no shortage of corporate news for investors to sink their teeth into.

Google parent Alphabet was in the red after the company said late on Monday that its profits were hit by a record fine imposed by the European Commission on Google last month for the breach of competition rules. Second-quarter revenues at Alphabet rose 21% to $26bn but profit in the three months to the end of June fell more than 40% to $3.5bn due to the fine.

McDonald's rallied as its second-quarter earnings beat expectations, with earnings per share of $1.70 versus $1.62 expected, while Caterpillar advanced as its quarterly numbers surpassed estimates and the company lifted its sales and profit guidance.

Retailer Supervalu surged after its first-quarter earnings missed expectations but revenue beat forecasts, while DuPont shares traded higher after its quarterly earnings and sales topped estimates.

Miner Freeport McMoran saw its shares gallop 11% higher after it said it swung to a profit in the second quarter, while Barnes & Noble also rose sharply as activist investor Sandell Asset Management urged the retailer to consider going private.

Kimberly-Clark edged up as its second-quarter profit surpassed estimates, while General Motors ticked higher on the back of a better-than-expected quarterly profit.

Going the other way, HCA Healthcare retreated after the company’s second-quarter profit and revenue fell short of estimates, while Eli Lilly fell despite the pharmaceutical group's quarterly profit and sales coming in ahead of expectations.

Luxury fashion brand Michael Kors was on the back foot after agreeing to buy London-listed Jimmy Choo for £896m and Post-it maker 3M lost ground after its quarterly sales narrowly missed analysts' expectations.

United Technologies slid despite posting better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raising its outlook.

In other macro news, US house price growth eased in May, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index.

The 20-city index was up 5.7% on the year, down from 5.8% the month before and below economists' expectations for an unchanged reading.

Meanwhile, the national home price NSA index covering all nine US census divisions was up 5.6% in May, unchanged from April.

Seattle, Portland, and Denver reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities. Seattle led the way with a 13.3% year-over-year price increase, followed by Portland with 8.9%, and Denver overtaking Dallas with a 7.9% increase. Nine cities reported greater price increases in the year ending May 2017 versus the year ending April 2017.