US stocks open higher, inching closer to record closing highs

As traders return from a three-day long weekend, major US equity indices opened mildly higher on Tuesday and added on to last week's gains to move closer to record closing highs touched in mid-August. The US stock market was closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

At the time of writing, Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 20 points higher at 18,510, while the broader S&P500 Index added 1 point and rose to 2,181. Tech heavy, Nasdaq composite index outperformed and gained 12 points to 5262. 

Friday's weaker-than-expected US monthly jobs report diminished prospects of an eventual Fed rate-hike action in September and fueled rally in riskier asset class - including stocks. Softer economic data point to sluggish economic growth, but with little in-terms of other investment avenues the US stock markets might continue to grind higher. 

In other markets, the US Dollar traded lower across the board, while WTI crude oil weakens back to $44.00/barrel mark. European equity markets traded with gains of anywhere between 0.2% -0.6% with the exception of UK's FTSE100, which lost around 0.5%.