US open: Stocks higher as investors await details of US-China trade talks

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a positive start on Tuesday as traders awaited details from US-China trade talks in London.

As of 1435 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.10% at 42,806.32, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.23% to 6,019.57 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.19% firmer at 19,628.37.

The Dow opened 44.56 points higher on Tuesday as market participants were dialled in on discussions between US and Chinese officials.

US-China talks come amid renewed tensions between both nations, despite both countries agreeing to temporarily slash duties on one another in May. Critical minerals, which China slapped export restrictions on in April following Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" tariff announcement, will be central to discussions, which were slated to resume on Tuesday, according to CNBC.

While there has been little information regarding the content of the discussions, Donald Trump told reporters: "We are doing well with China. China's not easy."

On the macro front, the National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index increased from 95.8 in April to 98.8 in May, the highest reading in three months and ahead of forecasts of 95.9. 18% of small business owners reported taxes as their single most important problem, while 14% of owners reported that inflation was their single most important concern. Owners expecting business conditions to improve rose 10 points month-on-month to 25%.

"Although optimism recovered slightly in May, uncertainty is still high among small business owners. While the economy will continue to stumble along until the major sources of uncertainty are resolved, owners reported more positive expectations on business conditions and sales growth", said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $217.51 3.18%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $29.39 2.94%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.48 2.09%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $115.78 1.55%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $358.15 1.34%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $272.08 1.19%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $11.33 0.71%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.76 0.59%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $472.75 0.50%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $79.33 0.46%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $267.72 -2.16%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $201.45 -1.66%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $61.91 -1.42%

Visa Inc. (V) $366.91 -0.96%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $162.58 -0.89%

3M Co. (MMM) $144.17 -0.87%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $304.82 -0.84%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $272.25 -0.82%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $365.20 -0.58%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.65 -0.34%

S&P 500 - Risers

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $4.21 6.60%

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $17.66 5.13%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $517.60 4.94%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $62.30 4.13%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $68.05 4.00%

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $155.41 3.52%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $121.73 3.49%

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $58.48 3.43%

Hershey Foods Corp. (HSY) $166.98 3.19%

Boeing Co. (BA) $217.51 3.18%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $8.79 -12.01%

Edison International (EIX) $49.42 -8.07%

Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $177.77 -6.14%

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $526.15 -5.55%

Aon plc (AON) $354.03 -4.65%

Allstate Corp (The) (ALL) $200.65 -3.50%

H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $56.21 -3.50%

Gallagher Arthur J (AJG) $317.80 -3.32%

Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $164.61 -3.26%

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (MMC) $222.43 -3.26%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $517.60 4.94%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $308.58 4.55%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $68.05 4.00%

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $155.41 3.52%

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $62.36 3.42%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $88.66 3.32%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $199.21 3.14%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $33.94 3.02%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $57.02 2.83%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $84.98 2.81%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $2.92 -8.18%

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $526.15 -5.55%

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $237.95 -3.30%

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $318.57 -2.52%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $227.80 -2.43%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $1,224.46 -2.29%

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,347.23 -2.21%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $313.27 -1.98%

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $146.92 -1.77%

Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $156.97 -1.76%