Investing.com - U.S. stocks were moderately higher on Tuesday, as markets remained wary ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later in the day and after disappointing U.S. housing sector data.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.37%, the S&P 500 index advanced 0.45%, while the Nasdaq Composite index climbed 0.29%.
Euro zone finance ministers were to meet later in the day and were expected to approve plans to enlarge the scope of the region’s bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. They were also expected to sign off on Greece’s next tranche of financial aid.
Also Tuesday, Standard & Poor with Case-Shiller said its house price index fell 3.6% in September, disappointing expectations for a 3.0% decline. U.S. home prices fell by an unrevised 3.8% in August.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp declined 80% as it filed for bankruptcy after failing to secure cost-cutting labor agreements and a round of mergers, dropping the company from the world’s largest airline to number three in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Tiffany plunged 9.81% after the luxury retailer gave a holiday quarter profit outlook that missed expectations.
Financial stocks contributed to losses as shares in JPMorgan tumbled 1.54% and Bank of America slumped 1.52%, while Bank of America and Citigroup declined 1.33% and 0.64%.
Earlier Tuesday, a federal judge declined Citigroup’s proposed USD285 million settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage debt.
Elsewhere, Amazon saw shares ease down 0.18% after saying on Monday it saw a surge in sales of its Kindle devices, on the crucial "Black Friday" shopping day after Thanksgiving.
On the upside, General Electric saw shares jump 1.55% and Home Depot climbed 1.32%
Investors were also discussing a potential stock market launch by Facebook, as the company was said to be considering raising about USD10 billion in an initial public offering that would value the world’s largest social-networking site at more than USD100 billion.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.28%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.16%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.44%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.10%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.3%.
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 rose 0.37%, the S&P 500 index advanced 0.45%, while the Nasdaq Composite index climbed 0.29%.
Euro zone finance ministers were to meet later in the day and were expected to approve plans to enlarge the scope of the region’s bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. They were also expected to sign off on Greece’s next tranche of financial aid.
Also Tuesday, Standard & Poor with Case-Shiller said its house price index fell 3.6% in September, disappointing expectations for a 3.0% decline. U.S. home prices fell by an unrevised 3.8% in August.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp declined 80% as it filed for bankruptcy after failing to secure cost-cutting labor agreements and a round of mergers, dropping the company from the world’s largest airline to number three in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Tiffany plunged 9.81% after the luxury retailer gave a holiday quarter profit outlook that missed expectations.
Financial stocks contributed to losses as shares in JPMorgan tumbled 1.54% and Bank of America slumped 1.52%, while Bank of America and Citigroup declined 1.33% and 0.64%.
Earlier Tuesday, a federal judge declined Citigroup’s proposed USD285 million settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage debt.
Elsewhere, Amazon saw shares ease down 0.18% after saying on Monday it saw a surge in sales of its Kindle devices, on the crucial "Black Friday" shopping day after Thanksgiving.
On the upside, General Electric saw shares jump 1.55% and Home Depot climbed 1.32%
Investors were also discussing a potential stock market launch by Facebook, as the company was said to be considering raising about USD10 billion in an initial public offering that would value the world’s largest social-networking site at more than USD100 billion.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.28%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.16%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.44%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.10%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.3%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on consumer confidence.