US open: Stocks higher despite Middle East tensions, earnings take centre stage

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the green early on Tuesday as investors largely shrugged off heightened tensions in the Middle East and turned their attention to another batch of quarterly earnings.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.51% at 49,692.35, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.27% to 7,128.58 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.37% firmer at 24,495.24.

The Dow opened 249.79 points higher on Tuesday, easily reversing modest losses recorded in the previous session.

Donald Trump told CNBC that the US was "going to end up with a great deal" when it comes to negotiations with Tehran. "They have no choice. We've taken out their Navy, we've taken out their Air Force, we've taken out their leaders." However, he added that the US military was "ready" to bomb Iran if a deal canwasnot signed by his ceasefire deadline and that he had no intention to extend it. This comes after Trump claimed that Iran had "Violated the Cease Fire numerous times!"

Outside of Trump's comments, quarterly earnings looked set to be the session's primary focus, with UnitedHealth reporting first-quarter results that exceeded expectations and lifting its full-year outlook on Tuesday, as the American health insurer pointed to improved cost management and early benefits from operational changes, while homebuilder DR Horton said Q2 profits had dropped 20% as new home demand was pressured by affordability constraints and weak consumer confidence, though the company kept its full-year guidance.

3M posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings, although its full-year profit guidance came in just short of Wall Street expectations, Northrop Grumman reported first-quarter earnings per share of $6.14 each on sales of $9.9bn, up 5% year-on-year, GE Aerospace's Q1 profits came in ahead expectations as the jet-engine maker said strong demand for air travel had pushed sales up almost 30% year-on-year, and Halliburton also beat Q1 earnings expectations, despite the oil-services giant taking a noticeable hit from the US and Israel's conflict with Iran, with Middle East/Asia revenue dropping 13% year-on-year to $1.3bn.

Still to come, United Airlines and Chubb were both slated to report earnings after the close.

Senate testimony from Donald Trump's nominee for Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh, will take place at 1500 BST and will also likely draw an amount investor attention, with his prepared remarks seeing the former Fed governor tell the Senate Banking Committee that the US central bank must remain largely independent of political influence while staying focused on its core objectives.

"The Fed must stay in its lane," he said, adding that its independence was most at risk when it strayed into fiscal or social policy areas "where it has neither authority nor expertise".

On the macro front, US retail sales rose 1.7% month-on-month in March 2026, according to the Census Bureau, beating market expectations for a more modest 1.4% increase and following February's upwardly revised 0.7% increase. March's reading marked the steepest rate of growth since January 2023, principally due to a 15.5% surge in gasoline station receipts as fuel prices surged amid the US and Israel's conflict with Iran.

Elsewhere, US business inventories rose by 0.4% month-on-month in February, according to the Census Bureau, just beating consensus estimates of a 0.3% uptick. February's increase marked the strongest gain since January 2025, fuelled by a 0.8% increase in merchant wholesale inventories, versus a 0.3% drop in January.

On another note, contracts to purchase previously owned US homes rose at a faster-than-expected clip in March, according to the National Association of Realtors, but higher mortgage rates and constrained supply continued to weigh on the housing market. The NAR's pending home sales index rose 1.5% to 73.7 in March, easily surpassing consensus estimates for a 0.5% increase. On an annualised basis, pending home sales dropped 1.1%. Contracts rose across the Northeast and the South, but `fell in the West and Midwest regions.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $87.71 3.38%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $36.77 3.29%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $186.27 2.27%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $316.99 2.16%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $941.74 1.71%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $273.05 1.69%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $46.48 0.98%

Boeing Co. (BA) $225.08 0.76%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $798.40 0.47%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $350.99 0.46%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $65.70 -5.04%

3M Co. (MMM) $151.40 -2.04%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $144.49 -1.66%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $117.10 -1.65%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $418.07 -1.54%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $230.69 -1.49%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $306.94 -1.42%

Visa Inc. (V) $313.94 -0.97%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $350.16 -0.64%

American Express Co. (AXP) $329.87 -0.55%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $100.35 15.94%

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $20.90 7.68%

Apache Corp. (APA) $35.97 6.67%

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $381.05 5.81%

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) $75.12 5.30%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $107.25 5.27%

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $27.81 5.18%

Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $183.45 4.83%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $251.60 4.83%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $572.24 4.52%

S&P 500 - Fallers

United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $98.91 -6.36%

NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $157.18 -6.29%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.24 -6.13%

Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $60.99 -5.04%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $65.70 -5.04%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $448.42 -4.42%

Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $43.54 -4.10%

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $20.26 -3.48%

McCormick & Co. (MKC) $52.85 -2.72%

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) $83.53 -2.66%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $478.08 6.65%

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $27.17 6.59%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $330.03 6.46%

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $199.76 5.67%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $415.29 5.59%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $132.09 5.54%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $278.23 5.16%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $254.94 4.83%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $186.88 4.60%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $141.58 4.51%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.44 -22.42%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $342.30 -3.43%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $94.14 -3.34%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $133.04 -3.27%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $393.78 -2.30%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $96.32 -2.08%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.14 -1.82%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $398.73 -1.59%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $449.55 -1.51%

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $15.42 -1.41%