US stocks open mildly up after import prices data

U.S. stocks open mildly up after the release of U.S. import and export prices in April. U.S. import prices fell 0.5 percent in April, following a revised 0.2 percent decrease in March, mainly due to lower prices for both fuel and non-fuel imports, the U.S. Labor Department said Tuesday. Meanwhile, prices for U.S. exports decreased 0.7 percent in April, the department added. Separately, April's Index of Small Business Optimism saw an uptick in April, rising 2.6 points to 92.1 from 89.5 in March, the National Federation of Independent Business reported. The figure was better than market expectations of rising to 90.5. In corporate news, BlackBerry shares edged up 1.10 percent to 16.06 U.S. dollars a share, as the company kicked off a three-day annual conference "BlackBerry Live" to road test its BlackBerry 10 platform. Shares of Tesla Motors extended its rally, jumping 6.26 percent to trade at 93.29 dollars a share. The electric car maker's shares have risen some 67 percent since it reported first-quarter earnings after the closing bell on May 8. Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group Plc, parents of Verizon Wireless, will receive a dividend of 7 billion dollars in June from Verizon Wireless, according to media reports. Verizon Communications shares dipped 0.10 percent to 52.50 dollars a share, while Vodafone shares dropped 1.15 percent to 29.32 dollars a share. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 14.60 points, or 0.10 percent, to 15,106.28 points. The S&P 500 was up 3.40 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1,637.17 points. The Nasdaq Composite added 6.31 points, or 0.18 percent, to 3,445.10 points.