US stock market opens higher

NEW YORK (AA) - Wall Street opened higher Tuesday after gains in European stock markets created a positive sentiment across the Atlantic.

The Dow Jones rose 87 points to begin the day at 18,617. The S&P 500 was up eight points to 2,191, while the Nasdaq rose 20 points to 5,264 at the start of the day.

At the U.S. stock market opening, Germany's DAX index was up 1.00 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE posted a 0.63 percent increase, and France's CAC 40 saw a 0.79 percent gain.

Oil prices continued to fall Tuesday.

At the first bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $46.80 a barrel, a 1.4 percent decline, while international benchmark Brent crude was at $48.73 per barrel, a 1.2 percent loss.