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Stocks unfazed by spooky economy Market opens higher on solid earnings as investors shrug off higher employment costs; await consumer number. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks rose in the first moments of trade Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrials edged higher while the Nasdaq composite, laden with tech and telecom stocks, rose about 0.4 percent in the early going. The broader S&P 500 also ticked higher. Investors seemed unfazed by a government report showing a surprising increase in employment costs as they awaited the latest reading on consumer confidence, due about a half hour after the market open. Lower oil prices supported the early optimism. Light crude for December delivery fell 55 cents to $57.81 in electronic trading. Bond prices pared gains but remained higher after the government said employment costs rose a slightly higher-than-expected 1 percent in the third quarter, the largest increase in more than two years. Wages, salaries and benefits all advanced during the quarter, the Labor Department said. (Full story). The yield on the 10-year Treasury note stood at 4.65 percent, down from 4.67 percent late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. In currency trading, the dollar rose against the euro and the Japanese yen. |
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