US stocks open higher

US stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors placed their bets on initial steps to reopen the nation's economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank said starting Tuesday it will buy corporate-bond exchange-traded funds. This is the first time the Fed has purchased ETFs, and expands efforts by the central bank to boost the nation's economy and support the financial system.

The consumer-price index declined by 0.8 percent last month – the second consecutive month prices have dropped since the coronavirus pandemic and the largest drop since 2008, the US Labor Department reported.

Excluding food and energy, which can rise or fall sharply, core prices fell 0.4 percent, the largest decline since 1957.

In early trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 133.55 points, or 0.48 percent, to 24,332.39. The S&P 500 rose 0.12 percent. The Nasdaq 500 edged up 0.09 percent.

On Monday, the Dow fell 109.33 points, or 0.45 percent, but wild swings in the market indexes appear to be over –at least for now.

West Texas Intermediate crude, the gauge for US prices on Tuesday rose 6.30 percent to $25.66 a barrel. Brent crude, the worldwide benchmark added 2.67 percent to $30.42 a barrel. The price of oil is a proxy for future economic activity.

Chesapeake Energy, a pioneer in the development of shale drilling, or fracking, said low oil prices may force it into bankruptcy. The company reported a first quarter loss of $8.3 billion compared with a loss of $21 million a year ago.

In early trading, the company's stock fell 2.13 percent.

Simon Property Group, the largest mall owner in the US, plans to reopen about 50 percent of its malls and outlets within a week.

The company owns about 200 shopping centers throughout the US. All properties were closed temporarily March 18 as part of the nationwide effort to curb spread of the coronavirus, also called COVID-19.

"We are now leading the effort for these local economies to get back to business," CEO David Simon told Wall Street analysts Tuesday during a conference call. "We want to help these local communities because frankly they depend on our sales taxes."

Macy's said it has reopened about 50 stores and the Gap plans to reopen about 800 stores by the end of the month. But elite retailer Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy protection last week. Upscale retailer Nordstrom's said it will permanently close 16 stores.

Simon said first quarter net income fell to $437.6 million from $548.5 million for the same period a year ago, a decline of 20.22 percent. In early trading, Simon Property Group gained 6.69 percent.

David Calhoun, Boeing's CEO, told NBC News that he believes a major US airline will collapse and go out of business later this year. "You know, something will happen when September comes around," Calhoun said in an interview scheduled to air Tuesday.

Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe said, "He was speaking to the general uncertainty in the sector, not about any one particular airline."

In the interview, Calhoun said recovery from the government-imposed coronavirus shutdown will be slow.

"Traffic levels will not be back to 100 percent," he said. "They won't even be back to 25 percent. Maybe by the end of the year, we approach 50 percent. So there will definitely be adjustments that have to be made on the part of the airlines."

Stocks of major airlines are down sharply from their 52-week highs as demand for travel collapsed during the pandemic.

In January, Boeing reported a loss of $636 million for fiscal year 2019 compared with a profit of $10.46 billion in 2018 – its first annual loss in more than 20 years. Boeing suspended dividends in March to conserve cash. The CEO and chairman of the board agreed to forego pay through 2020.

Boeing's stock is down 67.03 percent from its 52-week high. In early trading, the company's stock rose 2.09 percent.

Tesla, a maker of electric cars, defied local authorities and resumed production at its California plant. CEO Elon Musk asked that officials arrest him and not employees if the state decides to clamp down.

Musk emailed employees and asked for volunteers to resume production at about 30 percent of pre-pandemic levels. He advised those who felt uncomfortable about returning to work to stay home.

Musk threatened to move his company to Nevada or Texas after local officials said he couldn't resume production.

Musk's threat prompted California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a Democrat, to tweeted a vulgarity at Musk. Voters called her comment "classless" and said it underscored the reason Musk may leave California.

In early trading, Tesla's stock gained 2.48 percent.