US open: Dow Jones snaps three-day losing streak

dl wall street st new york city nyc nyse stock exchange ny dow jones nasdaq sp finance us usa united states of america — Wall StreetSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street trading got off to a positive start on Tuesday after word broke that Russia had pulled back a number of troops from the Ukrainian border.

As of 1510 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.89% at 34,873.51, while the S&P 500 was 1.13% stronger at 4,451.33 and the Nasdaq Composite came the gate 1.76% firmer at 14,033.39.

The Dow opened 307.34 points higher on Tuesday, snapping a three-day losing streak and reversing losses recorded yesterday amid ongoing rate hike worries and fears of a possible imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, Moscow claimed early on Tuesday that it was pulling back some of the 100,000 troops amassed at Ukraine's border.

While Russia's defence ministry has consistently denied that it was planning an attack against its neighbour and was simply conducting training exercises, it has also been chasing a guarantee that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO.

Ukraine officials were still skeptical of the alleged de-escalation, stating they'll believe it "when we see the withdrawal."

Also in focus, bond yields were higher across the board, with investors abandoning safe-haven fixed income, as the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was yielding around 2.044% after the opening bell.

On the macro front, January's producer price index, which measures final-demand goods and services, increased 1% month-on-month, ahead of estimates for a print of 0.5%, while over the past 12 months, the gauge rose an unadjusted 9.7%. Excluding food, energy and trade services, the so-called core PPI increased 0.9% in January, easily beating estimates for a print of 0.4%.

Elsewhere, business activity was little changed in New York State, according to the February Empire State manufacturing survey, with the headline general business conditions index moving up four points to 3.1. New orders and shipments held steady, unfilled orders increased, delivery times continued to lengthen and labour market indicators pointed to a solid increase in employment and a longer average workweek.

In the corporate space, Marriott revealed the fourth-quarter earnings had doubled despite the emergence of the Covid-19 Omicron variant throughout the period, while La-Z-Boy, Denny's, Wyndham Hotels, ViacomCBS and Wynn Resorts will all report after the close.

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $218.55 4.05%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $144.75 2.23%
American Express Co. (AXP) $196.55 2.18%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $154.10 2.15%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $203.88 2.00%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $155.25 1.81%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $77.68 1.58%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $48.08 1.51%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $299.31 1.46%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $53.88 1.32%