NEW YORK, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday as investors digested better-than-expected data.
Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for July were 478.9 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 0.6 percent from the previous month, more than the expected increase of 0.4 percent, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.
Prices for U.S. imports edged up 0.1 percent in July, led by higher fuel prices which more than offset lower prices for nonfuel imports, according to the Labor Department.
The July increase in import prices followed declines in each of the two previous months. U.S. export prices advanced 0.4 percent in July, after decreasing 0.2 percent in June.
Meanwhile, investors cheered as geopolitical tension between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) eased.
Analysts said the market rebounded from last week's pullback amid reduced fears of military conflict and the tendency of investors to buy stocks following any retreat.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23.07 points, or 0.10 percent, to 22,016.78. The S&P 500 gained 2.26 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,468.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 8.98 points, or 0.14 percent, to 6,349.21. Enditem
