Stock market opens higher as U.S.-China trade war put 'on hold'

U.S. stocks opened higher Monday, buoyed by an easing of trade tensions between the U.S. and China. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over the weekend said a trade war between the economic power was "on hold" after Washington and Beijing agreed to suspend threatened tariffs. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1%. The Dow industrials advanced 259 points, or 1%. Shares of Caterpillar Inc. rose 2.6% to lead Dow gainers, while shares of General Electric Co. jumped 2.4% after a deal to merge its transportation business with Wabtec Corp.