Wall Street opens higher after retail data

US stocks opened higher on Tuesday after data showed retail sales continued to rise in August but gains were capped by caution ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 55.78 points, or 0.34%, to 16,426.74, the S&P 500 gained 6.85 points, or 0.35%, to 1,959.88 and the Nasdaq composite added 12.33 points, or 0.26%, to 4,818.09.