US stocks climb in early trading, led by health care sector

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks are opening slightly higher on Wall Street as the market comes off its biggest monthly gain in four years.

Health care stocks were among the early winners Monday. Drug giant Pfizer rose 1 percent, the biggest gain in the Dow Jones industrial average.

Visa lagged the market. The payments processing company slumped 3 percent after announcing a deal to combine with its European counterpart.

Chipotle Mexican Grill fell 4 percent. The company shuttered its restaurants in Portland and Seattle after an outbreak of E. coli.

The Dow average gained 57 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,719 as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up seven points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,086.

The Nasdaq composite climbed 15 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,070.