Wall Street opens mostly higher

US stock indices opened the first session of the week mixed, with Bank of America leading finance stocks higher amid the second-quarter earnings season for major American banks and corporations, which overcame energy losses after oil prices tumbled nearly 3% on Monday. 

US Data 

Earlier US data showed retail sales rose 0.5%, slowing down from 1.3% in May, and beating estimates of 0.4%, while core sales rose 0.4% as expected, also slowing down from 1.4% in May. 

The Empire State Manufacturing Index slipped to 22.6 from 25.0 in June, beating expectations of 20.3, while wholesale inventories rose 0.4% as expected, adding to a 0.3% increase in April. 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will start testifying Tuesday on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report before the Senate Banking Committee, in Washington DC, with investors looking for clues on future monetary policies and plans for interest rates. 

Stock Performance 

As of 02:40 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 shed 0.11%, or 3.01 points to 2,798.30, while Dow Jones added 0.08%, or 19.24 points to 25,038.65. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ barely inched up 0.41 points to 7,826.38.