Wall Street opening lower; S&P off 0.2% after holiday break

BANGKOK (AP) — Wall Street is reopening Tuesday with stocks slightly lower following a holiday break. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is flat just after the open, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.6%. Investors in Europe and Asia bid up stocks following news air passengers arriving in China from abroad will no longer have to observe a quarantine, the latest step toward dropping once-strict virus-control measures in the world's No. 2 economy. Oil prices are rising. Southwest Airlines is down the most in almost three months after a wave of flight cancellations attracted scrutiny by regulators.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story appears below.

World shares advanced Tuesday after China announced it would relax more of its pandemic restrictions despite widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 that are straining its medical systems and disrupting business.

China's National Health Commission said Monday that passengers arriving from abroad will no longer have to observe a quarantine, starting Jan. 8. They will still need a negative virus test within 48 hours of their departure and to wear masks on their flights.

But it was the latest step toward dropping once-strict virus-control measures that have severely limited travel to and from the world's No. 2 economy.

“With economic activity floundering, and multinationals questioning the viability of China as a sourcing location, policymakers have — as so many times in the past — adopted a very business-like approach," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Companies welcomed the move as an important step toward reviving slumping business activity.

Germany's DAX gained 0.7% to 14,032.67 and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.9% at 6,564.29. Markets in London...