Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Tuesday, following a long holiday weekend and the release of U.S. house price data as markets eyed a report on consumer confidence amid ongoing concerns over Spain’s financial crisis.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.94%, the S&P 500 index rallied 0.90%, while the Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.73%.
Standard & Poor’s with Case-Shiller said its house price index fell at an annualized rate of 2.6% in March from a year earlier, in line with expectations and declining for the 21st consecutive month.
Sentiment found support earlier amid hopes for fresh monetary easing by China to support growth in the world’s second largest economy, after Beijing pledged to speed up approvals for new infrastructure-related projects last week.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious amid growing concerns over the situation in Spain, where rising bond yields, the growing costs of bank rescues and a recession hit economy fuelled fears that Madrid will be forced to seek an international bailout.
Energy stocks were among the session’s top gainers, supported by rising oil prices, as Peabody Energy surged 5.78% and Chesapeake rallied 5.12%, while Consol Energy and Chevron advanced 4.06% and 1.40% respectively.
Also in focus, Apple shares jumped 1.16% after rival Samsung Electronics launched highly anticipated its Galaxy S smartphone in Europe earlier Tuesday, in a move to topple the U.S. software company as the world’s leading smartphone maker.
Meanwhile, Facebook shares plunged 3.17%, amid reports the social media giant is in discussion to acquire Norway’s Opera Software for its mobile phone software technology for over USD1 billion.
According to a New York Times report, the social network recently hired former Apple software and hardware engineers with hopes of releasing its own smartphone next year.
Among financial stocks, JP Morgan added 0.15% after the U.S. lender sold an estimated USD25 billion of profitable securities in an effort to boost earnings after suffering trading losses tied to the bank's now-infamous “London Whale.”
Other U.S. banks were mixed, as shares in Bank of America surged 1.68% and Citigroup climbed 1.47%, while Goldman Sachs dropped 0.68% after announcing on Monday that it plans to invest USD40 billion in renewable energy projects over the next ten years.
Markets also followed reports on Dewey & Leboeuf LLP, marking the biggest collapse of a law firm in all U.S. history after filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday evening, as it failed to find a merger partner.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.68%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.31%, Germany's DAX surged 1.31%, while Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.53%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.85%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.7%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on consumer confidence.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.94%, the S&P 500 index rallied 0.90%, while the Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.73%.
Standard & Poor’s with Case-Shiller said its house price index fell at an annualized rate of 2.6% in March from a year earlier, in line with expectations and declining for the 21st consecutive month.
Sentiment found support earlier amid hopes for fresh monetary easing by China to support growth in the world’s second largest economy, after Beijing pledged to speed up approvals for new infrastructure-related projects last week.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious amid growing concerns over the situation in Spain, where rising bond yields, the growing costs of bank rescues and a recession hit economy fuelled fears that Madrid will be forced to seek an international bailout.
Energy stocks were among the session’s top gainers, supported by rising oil prices, as Peabody Energy surged 5.78% and Chesapeake rallied 5.12%, while Consol Energy and Chevron advanced 4.06% and 1.40% respectively.
Also in focus, Apple shares jumped 1.16% after rival Samsung Electronics launched highly anticipated its Galaxy S smartphone in Europe earlier Tuesday, in a move to topple the U.S. software company as the world’s leading smartphone maker.
Meanwhile, Facebook shares plunged 3.17%, amid reports the social media giant is in discussion to acquire Norway’s Opera Software for its mobile phone software technology for over USD1 billion.
According to a New York Times report, the social network recently hired former Apple software and hardware engineers with hopes of releasing its own smartphone next year.
Among financial stocks, JP Morgan added 0.15% after the U.S. lender sold an estimated USD25 billion of profitable securities in an effort to boost earnings after suffering trading losses tied to the bank's now-infamous “London Whale.”
Other U.S. banks were mixed, as shares in Bank of America surged 1.68% and Citigroup climbed 1.47%, while Goldman Sachs dropped 0.68% after announcing on Monday that it plans to invest USD40 billion in renewable energy projects over the next ten years.
Markets also followed reports on Dewey & Leboeuf LLP, marking the biggest collapse of a law firm in all U.S. history after filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday evening, as it failed to find a merger partner.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.68%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.31%, Germany's DAX surged 1.31%, while Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.53%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.85%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.7%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on consumer confidence.