US open: Stocks trade higher following Powell speech

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Tuesday as investors digested comments from a number of top Federal Reserve officials.

As of 1525 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.18% at 33,577.15, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.19% to 3,899.36 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.42% firmer at 10,680.58.

The Dow opened 59.50 points higher on Tuesday, taking a bite out of losses recorded in the previous session.

Fears regarding higher interest rates were in focus early on Tuesday after Atlanta Federal Reserve president Raphael Bostic said overnight that interest rates should rise above 5% and stay there for a "long time" and San Francisco Fed head Mary Daly stated the central bank should continue to raise rates, albeit at a slower pace.

The comments came ahead of a speech from Fed chairman Jerome Powell early on Tuesday, in which he said the central bank must stay politically independent in its efforts to tame inflation.

Elsewhere on the macro front, the National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index declined to a six-month low of 89.8 in December, down from 91.9 in November, as owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months worsened by eight points to -51% and inflation remained the single most important business problem, with 32% of owners reporting it as their top issue in operating their business.

Still on data, US wholesale inventories rose 1% month-on-month in November to $933.1bn, according to the Census Bureau, in line with preliminary estimates. On an annual basis, wholesale inventories rose 20.9%, slightly below the 21.9% increase registered in the prior month.

In the corporate space, Bed Bath & Beyond reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss prior to the open and said it was exploring a number of options going forward, including bankruptcy.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $56.08 1.45%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $230.02 1.28%
Visa Inc. (V) $220.92 1.06%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $148.66 1.06%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $49.05 0.97%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $272.39 0.84%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $248.53 0.77%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $111.18 0.72%
3M Co. (MMM) $127.50 0.56%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $125.49 0.51%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $205.66 -1.39%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $487.53 -0.52%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $144.33 -0.43%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.19 -0.39%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $317.04 -0.24%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $352.23 -0.22%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $175.22 -0.21%
American Express Co. (AXP) $150.11 -0.19%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $129.95 -0.15%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $94.66 -0.12%

S&P 500 - Risers

PerkinElmer Inc. (PKI) $139.65 4.31%
Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) $153.78 4.28%
Danaher Corp. (DHR) $265.74 4.19%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) $568.15 4.04%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $282.70 2.90%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $151.18 2.80%
Mettler Toledo International (MTD) $1,496.76 2.77%
Constellation Brands Inc. Class A (STZ) $220.66 2.39%
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $213.46 2.38%
Resmed Inc. (RMD) $214.13 2.12%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $197.45 -4.76%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $15.15 -4.24%
Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $38.06 -3.29%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $558.39 -3.21%
Waste Management Inc. (WM) $153.68 -2.88%
Republic Services Inc. (RSG) $124.41 -2.60%
Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM) $20.58 -2.42%
Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) $30.70 -2.29%
Synchrony Financial (SYF) $31.57 -2.23%
Macerich Co (MAC) $11.38 -2.15%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.86 3.33%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $282.70 2.90%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $109.62 2.35%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $81.33 2.28%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $456.40 1.86%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $81.25 1.83%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $231.60 1.73%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $269.48 1.72%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $88.82 1.67%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $691.59 1.63%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $197.45 -4.76%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $15.15 -4.24%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $558.39 -3.21%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $37.14 -1.43%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $118.16 -1.34%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $142.37 -1.11%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $123.07 -0.89%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $98.94 -0.85%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $392.43 -0.74%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $161.80 -0.69%