Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened moderately higher on Tuesday, even as data showed that manufacturing activity in the New York region fell more sharply than expected this month.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.02%, the S&P 500 added 0.13%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.23%.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index came in at 4.48 this month, down from a 20-month high of 12.51 in December. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 9.00.
The new orders index fell to zero from a two-year high of 11 last month.
A series of soft U.S. economic data has prompted some investors to wonder whether the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of reductions to its asset-buying stimulus program.
In the pharmaceutical sector, Forest Laboratories saw shares soar 30.47% amid reports British generic-drug maker Actavis is close to an agreement to buy the U.S. company for about USD25 billion.
In similar news, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. climbed 0.77% as Brightoil Petroleum Holdings was reportedly planning to buy oil and gas assets in China’s Bohai Bay from the U.S. company for USD1.08 billion in its biggest deal ever.
Meanwhile, Alcoa slipped 0.18% after the aluminum producer said it will close its uneconomic Point Henry smelter in Australia and two rolling mills hurt by excess capacity for materials used to make cans.
Elsewhere, Bloomberg reported that Las Vegas Sands finally restored its websites to service after almost a week offline, following an attack by hackers who have not yet been identified. The news sent shares in the company up 0.57%.
In earnings news, Coca-Cola reported a drop in fourth-quarter profit, which sent shares down 3.64%.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.19%, Germany's DAX dipped 0.05%, while Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.43%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.23%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 3.13%.