Wall Street stocks edged higher early Tuesday as markets monitored the latest US coronavirus trends and awaited a key Senate vote on a large infrastructure package.
A sharp uptick in Covid-19 infections in several states including Florida and Texas threatens to put a damper on the US recovery, weighing on oil prices and travel stocks on Monday.
But on the positive side, the Senate appears poised to approve President Joe Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure package in a bipartisan vote later Tuesday morning.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 35,125.63, up 0.1 percent.
The broad-based S&P 500 also climbed 0.1 percent to 4,436.53, along with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index, which was at 14,875.48.
Among individual companies, Kansas City Southern jumped 7.2 percent after rival freight rail company Canadian Pacific raised its bid to acquire the company, reviving a takeover battle with Canadian National Railway.
The latest bid represents an enterprise value of around $31 billion. Canadian Pacific dipped 0.9 percent.
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