Investing.com – Wall Street opened at record highs on Tuesday, as investors turn to the start of third-quarter earnings.
The S&P 500 rose eight points or 0.34% as of 9:49 AM ET (14:49 GMT) while the Dow Composite increased 0.34% or 76 points. Tech heavy NASDAQ Composite grew 17 points or 0.27%.
Airline stocks were among the biggest winners, as major airline companies increased their third quarter revenue forecast. United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) jumped 7.06%, while American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) rose 4.68% and Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) increased 2.86%.
Household manufacturer Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) increased 0.83% as shareholders vote on Tuesday on whether or not to elect activist Nelson Peltz to the firm’s board of directors, a move the company rejects.
Shares of Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) also rose 3.89% after it launched a $20 million stock buyback plan over the next two years.
Among the biggest losers were energy firm Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA), which fell 5.87%. Car manufacturer General Motors (NYSE:GM) decreased 0.82%, a day after it announced it was buying a self-driving sensor company.
Manufacturer Honeywell International Inc (NYSE:HON) was down 0.87% on the news that it will spin off its home and ADI global distribution units into independent, publicly-traded companies by the end of 2018. Health care firm UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was stumbled 1.02%.
Meanwhile in Europe, stocks were down as the Catalan region was expected to declare it independence from Spain on Tuesday. EURO STOXX 50 was down 0.41%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 decreased 1.11%. In France, the CAC 40 inched down 0.16%, while in Germany the DAX fell 0.34%. In London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.28%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.83% to $1,295.69 an ounce, while crude oil increased 1.96% to $50.55 a barrel. The U.S. Dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell to 93.07.