Wall Street opens higher despite poor Q4 earnings data

Major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day in the positive territory despite poor fourth-quarter earnings figures reported by Wells Fargo and JPMorgan. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.% on the day while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were adding 0.8% and 1.7%, respectively.

Among 11 major S&P 500 sectors, communications services and technology both gain more than 1.3% in the early trade to boost the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite. Reports of China taking additional measures to boost economic growth seems to be helping market sentiment stay positive on Tuesday. On the other hand, materials erase 0.6% as the worst performer at the opening. 

Today's data from the U.S. showed that the manufacturing sector in the NY area lost momentum with the NY Fed's Empire State Manufacturing Index slumping to 3.9 in January from 10.9 in December. Additionally, the annual PPI came in at 2.5% in December to match the previous reading and the analysts' estimates.