US: Stocks open higher, rebounding somewhat

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks rose early on Tuesday, rebounding somewhat from the prior session's losses, as investors weighed worries about rising interest rates and unsettled Washington policy questions.

Anxiety about inflation has been sharpened by strengthening energy prices and a rise in interest rates on US Treasury bonds.

Also on the list of worries: The threat of a US government default as lawmakers in Congress debate lifting the debt limit.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 34,125.50, up 0.4 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.4 per cent to 4,319.05, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.6 per cent to 14,343.01.

The Commerce Department reported that the US trade deficit had climbed to US$73.3 billion from the upwardly revised US$70.3 billion the month prior, more than analysts had expected and 4.2 per cent higher than in July.

Among individual companies, PepsiCo climbed 0.6 per cent as it lifted its full-year forecast following better-than-expected profits.

Facebook gained 0.9 per cent, recovering a bit of the prior day's losses when it was hit with major outages across its platforms.

But the social media company will be under scrutiny later on Tuesday when a former employee and whistleblower testifies before a congressional committee over accusations that the company has put profit about public wellbeing.

AFP