[h=3]By MATT JARZEMSKY And TOMI KILGORE[/h]NEW YORK—U.S. stocks were mostly higher after opening for trading for the first time since Friday, as gains in overseas markets helped lift sentiment.
Stock markets had been closed on Monday and Tuesday, the first weather-related shutdown on consecutive days since 1888. Exchanges operators such as New York Stock Exchange parent NYSE Euronext had said they expected a normal open Wednesday.
In the minutes after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54 points, or 0.4%, to 13160 from Friday's levels. Dow futures had declined early Monday, before rebounding to close up slightly on Tuesday.
ReutersTraders outside the New York Stock Exchange before the opening bell on Wednesday as markets prepared to open for the first time since the storm that hit the East Coast.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added five points, or 0.4%, to 1417, while the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped less than one point to 2988.
European markets traded mostly higher. The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.2%. Stronger-than-expected retail sales in Germany and upbeat consumer-spending data in France helped offset news that euro-zone unemployment rose to a record high. Germany's DAX rose 0.5% and France's CAC-40 tacked on 0.2%.
The jobless rate in the 17-nation euro zone rose to 11.6% in September from 11.5% in August. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged.
Asian markets were also broadly higher. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rallied 1%, rebounding from sharp losses in the previous session that were prompted by disappointment that the Bank of Japan only extended its bond buying program, rather than adding to it. China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%.
In the U.S., the employment cost index for the third quarter at rose 0.4% from the second quarter, just shy of expectations for a 0.5% increase. The purchasing manager's index for the Chicago region for October, due out at 9:45 a.m. EDT, is seen increasing to 51.0 from September's 49.7. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
[h=3]New York's Blackout Skyline[/h]Compare New York's usual skyline with its blackout skyline after the storm caused power outages.
Stock markets had been closed on Monday and Tuesday, the first weather-related shutdown on consecutive days since 1888. Exchanges operators such as New York Stock Exchange parent NYSE Euronext had said they expected a normal open Wednesday.
In the minutes after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54 points, or 0.4%, to 13160 from Friday's levels. Dow futures had declined early Monday, before rebounding to close up slightly on Tuesday.
ReutersTraders outside the New York Stock Exchange before the opening bell on Wednesday as markets prepared to open for the first time since the storm that hit the East Coast.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added five points, or 0.4%, to 1417, while the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped less than one point to 2988.
European markets traded mostly higher. The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.2%. Stronger-than-expected retail sales in Germany and upbeat consumer-spending data in France helped offset news that euro-zone unemployment rose to a record high. Germany's DAX rose 0.5% and France's CAC-40 tacked on 0.2%.
The jobless rate in the 17-nation euro zone rose to 11.6% in September from 11.5% in August. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged.
Asian markets were also broadly higher. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rallied 1%, rebounding from sharp losses in the previous session that were prompted by disappointment that the Bank of Japan only extended its bond buying program, rather than adding to it. China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%.
In the U.S., the employment cost index for the third quarter at rose 0.4% from the second quarter, just shy of expectations for a 0.5% increase. The purchasing manager's index for the Chicago region for October, due out at 9:45 a.m. EDT, is seen increasing to 51.0 from September's 49.7. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
[h=3]New York's Blackout Skyline[/h]Compare New York's usual skyline with its blackout skyline after the storm caused power outages.