U.S. stocks edged higher Tuesday morning, as investors watched the global spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and searched for fresh catalysts to keep pushing equities higher. Investors were also awaiting the passage of a infrastructure package by the Senate later in the session. Energy prices
XLE,
+1.28%,
meanwhile, were rebounding from a sharp rout. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.41%
rose 0.1% at 35,129, the S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.19%
advanced 0.1% at 4,436, and the Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
-0.41%
climbed 0.2% at 14,888. Meanwhile, the Senate was set to pass a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure package with broad bipartisan support Tuesday, advancing a central piece of President Biden's economic agenda. In corporate news, shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings
AMC,
+2.61%
climbed after the movie-theater chain reported a narrower quarterly loss late Monday, and a deal with AT&T's
T,
+0.39%
Warner Bros. over showing its movies in theaters before streaming. In COVID news, the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus-borne illness COVID-19 has driven the daily average of new cases in the U.S. above 100,000 for the first time since February and created a crisis in Austin, Texas, where hospitals are running out of intensive care unit beds. The U.S. seven-day average of new cases stood at 110,360 on Sunday, according to a New York Times tracker, up 112% from two weeks ago. Hospitalizations have climbed 90% and deaths are up 92% in the period.