US open: Stocks higher ahead of Fed speakers, Chinese Covid cases in focus

dl exchange place wall st street pl new york city nyc ny nyse stock exchange dow jones sp nasdaq finance dollar dollars us usa united states of america — Exchange PlaceSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks traded higher early on Tuesday as market participants looked ahead to speeches from a number of central bankers.

As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.80% at 33,969.01, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.65% to 3,975.55 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.28% firmer at 11,055.46.

The Dow opened 268.73 points higher on Tuesday, easily reversing losses recorded in the previous session.

China was in focus at the open on Tuesday after the country reported its first Covid-related deaths on the mainland since May, sparking fears that it may reinstitute restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus and pushing investors away from growth stocks and into defensive sectors. China's three-week Covid case tally has topped 253,000 and the government stated the daily average is increasing.

Investors also patiently waited for the publication of minutes from the Federal Reserve's November meeting on Wednesday, with traders preparing for policymakers to announce that they'll likely continue to raise rates as part of an effort to tame inflation.

On the macro front, the Richmond Federal Reserve's manufacturing index edged slightly higher in November, jumping to -9 from October's print of -10, which was the lowest reading since May 2020.

Still to come, the Federal Reserve's Loretta Mester, Esther George, and James Bullard will deliver speeches at 1600 GMT, 1915 GMT, and 1945 GMT, respectively.

In the corporate space, Best Buy traded higher after the retailer posted an earnings beat and raised its full-year guidance, while Dick's Sporting Goods delivered a quarterly revenue and profit beat, as well as better-than-expected Q3 sales.

HP will report earnings after the close on Tuesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $51.58 2.81%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $185.29 2.24%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $323.43 2.10%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $41.32 1.80%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.26 1.67%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $236.01 1.65%
American Express Co. (AXP) $155.00 1.43%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.29 1.41%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $385.15 1.30%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $148.58 1.30%