Stocks rose Tuesday as traders monitored ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 300 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2% and 1.8%, respectively.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Tuesday that the country plans to "drastically" reduce military activity near Ukrainian capital Kyiv, driving investor optimism higher. Delegates from the two countries are currently meeting for peace talks in Istanbul.
Here's how the market settled on Tuesday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Job openings ticked lowers in February:
U.S. job openings fell last month to somewhat retreat from a record high, while vacancies still outpaced new hires as employers struggled to fill open positions.
The Labor Department said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) on Tuesday that openings totaled 11.266 million in February. Beneath the headline, the total level of unemployed was 6.27 million for the month, resulting in a record 5 million more openings than available workers; there are now 1.8 jobs for every person unemployed.
This print follows 11.283 million vacancies in January, according to the Labor Department's revised figure.
Home price growth rose in January:
Home price growth accelerated in the first month of the year, according to Standard & Poor's S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index, posting a 19.2% annual gain in January from December's reading of 18.9%. Moreover, the 20-City Composite posted a 19.1% annual gain, up from 18.6% in December.
"Home price changes in January 2022 continued the strength we had observed for much of the prior year," said Craig J. Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P DJI, in a statement. "Last fall we observed that home prices, although continuing to rise quite sharply, had begun to decelerate. Even that modest deceleration was on pause in January."
Here's how benchmarks started trading after market open:
S&P 500 Index: +0.96% or +43.86 points to 4,619.38
Dow Jones Industrial Average: +1.08% or +376.03 points 35,331.92
Nasdaq Composite Index: +1.16% or +166.96 points to 14,521.86
