Cautious optimism on possible breakthrough in budget talks NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes opened higher Monday morning as House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has reportedly proposed raising taxes on millionaires. The offer was made privately on Friday. Although the White House rejected the majority of Boehner's proposal, Democrats said the offer was a potential opening for further budget talks and an eventual compromise, The Wall Street Journal reported. Gains were held in check by a U.S. Federal Reserve of New York report that pegged New York State manufacturing as sliding further in December, although the pace of decline was described as modest. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added 53.19 points, 0.4 percent, to 13,188.20. The Standard and Poor's 500 gained 7.93 points, 0.56 percent, to 1,421.51. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite was added 12.49 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,984.56. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 91.32 points, 0.94 percent, to 9,828.88. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 5/32 to yield 1.723 percent. The dollar rose to 83.75 yen, up from Friday's 83.66 yen. The euro rose to $1.3161 from Friday's $1.3075.