S&P 500 Index opens sharply higher above 3,800

• Wall Street's main indexes opened in the positive territory on Tuesday.
• Energy stocks are posting strong gains on surging oil prices.
• All major sectors of the S&P 500 trade higher after the opening bell.

Major equity indexes in the US started the second day of the week decisively higher as risk flows continue to dominate the financial markets. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street's fear gauge, is down nearly 12% on a daily basis.

As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.23% on the day at 30,583, the S&P 500 was gaining 1.25% at 3,821 and the Nasdaq Composite was rising 1.35% at 13,427.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index is up nearly 2% after the opening bell boosted by a nearly-3% increase in crude oil prices. On the other hand, the Real Estate Index is underperforming, up only 0.2%.

S&P 500 chart (daily)