US stocks open mostly higher; Merck leads a rebound in the health care sector

Stocks are opening mostly higher as the health care sector rebounds from a slump the day before.

Drugmaker Merck soared 6 percent early Tuesday, the most in the Dow Jones industrial average, after reporting earnings and revenue that came in well ahead of what analysts were looking for.

The Container Store plunged 24 percent after releasing earnings that were far below estimates. It also issued a disappointing forecast.

The Dow rose 28 points to 18,062 as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was flat at 2,108. The Nasdaq composite was up a point at 5,061.

Health care stocks rose the most in the S&P 500.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.95 percent.