US stocks are mostly higher early trading; Oil price slumps

U.S. stock indexes were mostly higher in early trading Tuesday, erasing some of the losses from a steep, technology-driven sell-off a day earlier. Gains in banks and technology companies outweighed losses elsewhere in the market. Crude oil prices headed sharply lower, continuing a long downturn. Bond prices rose, sending yields lower.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index rose 11 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,737 as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 16 points to 25,393. The Nasdaq composite gained 46 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,246. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 9 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,528.

US-CHINA TRADE: The South China Morning Post reported Chinese President Xi Jinping's top economic adviser might visit Washington ahead of Xi's planned meeting with President Donald Trump. The newspaper, citing unidentified sources, said the visit is aimed at easing trade tensions but no schedule had been decided. The two sides have raised tariffs on billions of dollars of each other's goods in a dispute over U.S. complaints about Beijing's technology policy. Xi and Trump are due to meet during this month's Group of 20 gathering of major economies in Argentina.

TECH REBOUND: Technology stocks were trading higher, erasing some of the sector's hefty losses from a day earlier. Chipmaker Nvidia climbed 2.7 percent to $194.66.

REVVED UP: Advance Auto Parts vaulted 8.3 percent to $181.01 after the retailer reported strong quarterly results and raised its forecast.

COSTS A CONCERN: Home Depot fell 1.3 percent to $177.04 as rising costs overshadowed the home-improvement retailer's latest quarterly results, which topped Wall Street's estimates.

MIXED MEAL: Tyson Foods dropped 6.5 percent to $57.58 after the meat producer's quarterly earnings beat analysts' estimates, but revenue fell short. The company also issued a weak outlook, noting that it faced higher labor and freight costs.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude slid 2.2 percent to $58.62 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 2.2 percent to $68.56 a barrel in London.

Oil prices were down after Trump tweeted that he hoped Saudi Arabia and OPEC would not cut production. The remarks come after Saudi Arabia said this week that the oil cartel and allied crude producers will likely need to cut supplies, perhaps by as much as 1 million barrels of oil a day.

BOND YIELDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.16 percent from 3.19 percent late Friday. Bond trading was closed Monday for Veterans Day.

CURRENCIES: The dollar gained to 113.95 yen from 113.86 yen on Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1272 from $1.1240.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: European markets rose. Germany's DAX gained 0.7 percent, while France's CAC 40 added 0.4 percent. London's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent. In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 2 percent. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 declined 1.8 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.5 percent. Seoul's Kospi gave up 0.4 percent and India's Sensex added 0.4 percent.