U.S. stocks open higher as investors weigh New York’s Fed’s Empire State factory gauge, monitor Israel-Hamas war

U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, as investors monitored the Israel-Hamas war while weighing the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Empire State manufacturing survey showing activity slumped. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.75%
was up 0.6% soon after the opening bell, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.84%
rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
+0.93%
gained 0.3%, according to FactSet data, at last check. The New York’s Fed’s Empire State business conditions index for manufacturing activity in the state fell in October, although the reading was slightly less negative than Wall Street expected. Last week the Dow rose to snap a three-week losing streak, while the S&P 500 booked back-to-back weekly gains and the Nasdaq logged a slight weekly decline amid heightened worries that the Israel-Hamas war risks broadening in the Middle East.