US open: Stocks rise as PBoC tries to soothe markets

US stocks edged higher on Tuesday as the People's Bank of China tried soothe concerns about the nation's slowdown.

At 1439 GMT, the Dow rose 0.11%, the Nasdaq rose 0.14% and the S&P 500 increased 0.17%.

There are very few economic drivers for the day with the only notable data release being the ISM New York Index on the areas business conditions at 1445 GMT.

Elsewhere, Asian stocks closed lower after worse-than-expected manufacturing data, a weaker yen and the imminent expiration of a ban on the share sales by major stakeholders.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission said on Tuesday that shareholders should not sell shares when the six-month ban expires on Friday.

Furthermore, several large Chinese companies said their major shareholders and senior executives would voluntarily extend a ban on sales of shares in the secondary market, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, the PBoC tried to calm nerves as it injected 130bn yuan (£13.6bn) into the financial system via reverse repurchase agreements and fixed the yuan stronger to the dollar in reaction to the currency hitting four-and-a-half month lows.

"The PBOC’s offer of 130bn yuan (almost $20bn) of reverse repurchase agreements appears to have eased liquidity concerns in Chinese money markets and offered some layer of comfort for equity investors," said Jasper Lawler at CMC Markets.

"With rising capital outflows thanks to the weakening currency, tight liquidity has forced the PBOC to offer alternative funding."

Oil prices were in the red, with Brent down 1.3% to 36.73% a barrel and West Texas Intermediate down 1.07% to $36.37 a barrel at 1425 GMT.

The dollar was up against the euro and the pound, rising 0.18% and 0.69% respectively, while it dropped 0.33% against the yen. Spot gold was up 0.33% to $1,078.15.

In company news, Eli Lilly gained despite saying it expects the year’s revenue to range from $20.2bn to $20.7bn, below consensus levels.

Biotech group Exelixis Inc jumped after it released a set of positive results from one of its phase three trials after the close on Monday.