Tuesday, May 24, 2011

US stocks opened slightly higher Tuesday following steep declines the prior day

US stocks opened slightly higher Tuesday following steep declines the prior day, with positive economic data in Europe helping to ease eurozone debt worries.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 26.83 points (0.22 per cent) to 12,407.34 in opening trade.

The broader S&P 500-stock index advanced 4.19 points (0.32 per cent) to 1,321.56, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 4.41 points (0.16 per cent) at 2,763.31.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said that Wall Street is focused on eurozone sovereign debt problems in Greece , Ireland and Portugal .

"The euro has become a proxy of sorts for sentiment on the issue," O'Hare said.

"With the euro up this morning against the dollar, it can be said then that the market's nerves have settled a bit, but to say they are entirely calm is overstating things."

A better-than-expected business confidence report in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, helped to ease market jitters.

US stocks dived Monday amid heightened European debt fears and worries about slowing growth in China , the world's second-largest economy.

The Dow dropped 1.05 per cent, the S&P 500 tumbled 1.19 per cent and the Nasdaq fell 1.58 per cent.

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