US open: Stocks on the rise, S&P nears record high
US stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday, with the S&P near record highs as investors sifted through more earnings and brushed aside the latest trade war rhetoric from President Trump.
At 1505 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6% to 25,657.37, the S&P 500 was 0.4% higher at 2,860.68 and the Nasdaq was 0.3% firmer at 7,885.06.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "Confidence has returned as the S&P 500 moseys its way to towards the January record high and it remains encouraging to see stock markets hold their ground despite a drumbeat of trade war headlines of late.
"Earnings season is shaping up very well indeed, which accounts for why US equities remain comfortably ahead of the likes of Europe, but a rising tide lifts all boats and will reinforce the impression that this economic recovery and its associated bull market has further to run."
Market participants largely shrugged off Trump's Twitter tantrum. A day after announcing the re-imposition of sanctions against Iran, Trump warned that anyone trading with the country would not do business with the US, as he claimed the sanctions were reinstated for the sake of world peace.
"The Iran sanctions have officially been cast. These are the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level. Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States. I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less!" Trump tweeted.
Energy shares ratcheted up decent gains as oil prices rose on expectations that the US sanctions on Iran will tighten supply, amid forecasts that supply losses could range from around 600,000 to 1.5m barrels per day. Chevron and Exxon Mobil both traded higher.
In individual corporate news, Office Depot surged nearly 10% as its second-quarter earnings beat estimates, while Mallinckrodt rocketed 23% as the pharmaceutical products group posted better-than-expected second-quarter profit and sales and bumped up its full-year outlook.
On the downside, Spark Therapeutics tumbled 31% after the biotechnology company said a small trial for an experimental gene therapy treatment for haemophilia led to one person being hospitalised.
Dean Foods fell 10% after the food and drink company cut its full-year profit outlook and Zillow Group was sharply lower after its second-quarter earnings late on Tuesday disappointed and the company announced the acquisition of a mortgage lender.
Still to come, Walt Disney and Papa John's are slated to report after the market close.
On the data front, figures from the Department of Labor showed that US job openings in June nudged just a touch higher to 6.662m in June from 6.659m the month before, beating expectations for a level of 6.646m and marking third best level in history. Meanwhile, the quits rate was unchanged at 2.3% for the fourth month in a row.