US open: Stocks higher as traders return from Christmas break

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Tuesday as traders returned from the Christmas break. As of 1500 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.27% at 37,488.67, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.31% to 4,769.20 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.43% firmer at 15,057.12.

The Dow opened 102.70 points higher on Tuesday, extending gains recorded on Friday as market participants cheered recent a surprise reading of the Federal Reserve's favourite inflation gauge. Markets were closed for Christmas Day celebrations on Monday.

As for Tuesday, stocks started the final week of 2023 with some early gains, with Intel picking up roughly 3% as a result of the Israeli government awarding the chipmaker a $3.2bn grant for the erection of a $25.0bn plant - the largest ever investment by a company in Israel.

With Israel in mind, residents of the occupied West Bank woke up to an attack on Jenin on Christmas day, commonly viewed as a symbol of Palestinian resistance. Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ, was also raided overnight by Israeli forces as violence in the West Bank surged and arrests increased as a result of Israel's war on Gaza, which has claimed the lives of more than 20,000 Palestinians.

A bit closer to home, US home prices posted their biggest gain of 2023 in October, according to S&P/Case-Shiller, which revealed home prices rose 4.8% nationally last month - up from a 4% annual increase seen in September and the strongest annual gain of the year. Home price growth comes despite a sharp rise in mortgage interest rates in October, with the average rate on a 30-year fixed loan passing 8% on 19 October.

On another note, the Chicago Fed national activity index rose to +0.03 in November, an increase from a revised -0.66 in a month earlier. The index suggests that economic activity rose in November, with all four broad categories increasing month-on-month and two categories making positive contributions last month.

Elsewhere, former Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan said he expects the central bank to start lowering rates soon as it looks to seeks to avoid a recession amid cooling levels of inflation.

Also from the Lone Star state, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' manufacturing general business activity index deteriorated for a third straight month, hitting -19.9 in November - its lowest since July. The production index, a critical gauge of state manufacturing conditions, moved into negative territory, falling to -7.2 in November, from +5.2 in the prior month.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $49.24 2.58% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $294.89 1.56% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $26.51 1.11% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $152.02 0.64% 3M Co. (MMM) $107.01 0.64% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $55.43 0.56% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $168.07 0.40% Visa Inc. (V) $259.42 0.38% Boeing Co. (BA) $261.04 0.23% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $292.29 0.20%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $281.82 -0.82% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $518.39 -0.37% Nike Inc. (NKE) $107.65 -0.36% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $107.32 -0.35% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $37.37 -0.31% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $265.55 -0.29% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $156.22 -0.27% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $90.78 -0.26% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $193.12 -0.25% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $58.30 -0.03%

S&P 500 - Risers

Gap Inc. (GPS) $21.81 3.02% Intel Corp. (INTC) $49.24 2.58% Kohls Corp. (KSS) $28.34 2.42% Edison International (EIX) $71.10 2.33% Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $4.32 2.13% Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $142.54 2.11% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $794.58 1.87% Apache Corp. (APA) $36.63 1.86% Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $18.75 1.76% FedEx Corp. (FDX) $252.21 1.69%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Carmax Inc. (KMX) $74.65 -2.44% Carnival Corp. (CCL) $18.54 -2.06% Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $20.61 -1.60% Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) $51.61 -1.30% American Airlines Group (AAL) $14.13 -1.26% TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $21.08 -1.13% Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $43.54 -1.05% Aon plc (AON) $288.64 -1.04% Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $8.89 -0.94% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.72 -0.87%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $93.25 6.41% Intel Corp. (INTC) $49.24 2.58% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $794.58 1.87% Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $138.83 1.67% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $164.65 1.60% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $494.75 1.32% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $87.59 1.27% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $589.51 1.18% Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $5.06 1.16% QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $145.13 1.14%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $14.13 -1.26% Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $43.54 -1.05% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $281.82 -0.82% O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $946.61 -0.57% Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.86 -0.56% Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $8.69 -0.52% T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $155.13 -0.37% Incyte Corp. (INCY) $62.64 -0.33% Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $74.91 -0.32% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $43.69 -0.31%