U.S. stocks open higher after subdued inflation data

U.S. stocks opened higher Tuesday after U.S. housing starts and consumer inflation rose below estimates last month as investors await the end of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting tomorrow.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.39% or 59.12 points to 15238.13 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.24% or 4.00 points to 1642.99 points. The NASDAQ composite index climbed 0.33% or 11.39 points to 3463.50. As of 10:00 a.m. ET

The consumer price index for May increased a less than expected 0.1% on the month, while it rose 0.2% when excluding the food and energy components, which was in line with economists’ predictions.

May housing starts rose 6.8% to a seasonally adjusted annualize rate of 914,000. That was below expectations for a 11.4% rise to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 950,000. The number of new building permits.

Investor worries over whether the Fed intends to maintain or start winding down its asset-purchase program were highlighted in afternoon trading on Monday. The Dow pared an early gain of as much as 192 points down to about 42 points, before bouncing into the close, after news reports raised worries that the Fed may signal a tapering of asset purchases.

European markets seesawed around unchanged levels in muted trading as investors waited Bernanke, with the Stoxx Europe 600 last up 0.1%. Separately, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he would not hesitate to use interest rates and non-standard measures to bolster the euro-zone economy.

Front month July crude-oil futures rose 0.35% to $98.20 a barrel, while June gold futures lost 0.7% to $1,373.10 an ounce. The dollar gained ground against both the yen and the euro.