US stocks begin fourth quarter higher

• Wall Street stocks opened higher on Tuesday.
• The talks come amid signs the US economy is slowing.
• The broad-based S&P 500 also gained 0.5 percent, rising to 2,992.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.8 percent to 8,060.19.

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks opened higher on Tuesday, beginning the fourth quarter on a positive note ahead of key economic data and trade talks.

Investors are looking ahead to talks later this month between top US and Chinese officials with hopes for progress towards a long-term trade deal and a halt on new tariff actions.

The talks come amid signs the US economy is slowing, though a note from S&P said Monday that a recession over the next 12 months is "unlikely."

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 27,038.72, up 0.5 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 also gained 0.5 percent, rising to 2,992.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.8 percent to 8,060.19.

Key data releases this week include reports from the Institute for Supply Management on manufacturing and services sector activity, as well as the September US jobs report.

Futures markets are close to evenly split on whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again later this month.

Another wildcard is third-quarter earnings reports, which will start being released in about two weeks. Companies in the S&P 500 are projected to see a drop of 3.7 percent in profits compared with the year-ago period, according to FactSet.