US stock market opens higher

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - The U.S. stock market opened higher Tuesday as optimism in European markets positively affected investors across the Atlantic.

The Dow added 157 points to begin trading at 20,921 points, and the S&P 500 rose 7 points to open at 2,382.

The Nasdaq increased by 20 points to start trading at 6,004 points -- climbing above the 6,000 mark for the first time in history.

European stock markets were also on the rise on Tuesday, after French centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron finished the first round of election ahead of other candidates on Sunday. This has calmed investors' worries over a potential breakup of the eurozone or the European Union, analysts said.