Stocks have moved moderately higher in early trading on Tuesday, adding to the gains posted in the previous session. The major averages have climbed into positive territory, although buying interest seems somewhat subdued.
The major averages have pulled back off their highs for the young session in the past few minutes but are holding on to gains. The Dow is up 56.05 points or 0.4 percent at 15,235.90, the Nasdaq is up 12.30 points or 0.4 percent at 3,464.43 and the S&P 500 is up 3.82 points or 0.2 percent at 1,642.86.
The early strength on Wall Street may be partly due to comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who said the central bank has not ruled out the possibility of negative deposit rates and other non-standard policy measures.
Speaking at a farewell conference for Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer in Jerusalem, Draghi said, "We will look with an open mind at these measures that are especially effective in our institutional setup and that fall within our mandate."
Nonetheless, traders seem reluctant to make any significant moves as the Federal Reserve begins its two-day monetary policy meeting.
While the Fed is not expected to announce an immediate change in policy when it releases its post-meeting statement on Wednesday, traders will be looking for any signals regarding when the central bank will scale back its stimulus program.
In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing a significant rebound in housing starts in the month of May, although starts still came in well below economist estimates.
The report said housing starts climbed 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 914,000 in May from the revised April estimate of 856,000. However, economists had been expecting housing starts to surge up to an annual rate of 955,000 compared to the 853,000 originally reported for April.
A separate report from the Labor Department showed a modest increase in consumer prices in the month of May, with the slight increase largely reflecting higher shelter costs.
Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital, said, "There were some expected and unexpected developments this morning but all in, today's data do not change the U.S. economic landscape."
Defense, semiconductor, and oil service stocks are seeing some strength in early trading, although most of the major sectors are showing relatively modest moves.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.1 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.9 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure, extending the downward move seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.6 basis points at 2.207 percent.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.