US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens flat heading into Christmas break

U.S. stocks took a breather at the open on Tuesday heading into the Christmas break amid improving U.S.-China trade relations and lingering optimism about the health of the domestic economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose just 21.04 points, or 0.07%, at the open to 28,572.57.

The S&P 500 opened higher by 1.44 points, or 0.04%, at 3,225.45, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 9.36 points, or 0.10%, to 8,955.01 at the opening bell.