NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Monday as a pause in hostilities between the United States and Iran lifted risk appetite and supported a broad-based move into equities. The easing of geopolitical tensions improved sentiment at the start of a week that investors expect to be pivotal for financial markets, with traders closely watching how the temporary calm in U.S.-Iran relations would be reflected in asset prices. Market participants positioned for increased activity as trading got under way, responding to both the geopolitical backdrop and the approaching cluster of scheduled U.S. economic and corporate events. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 226.2 points, or 0.44%, at the open to 52,173.42. The S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 52.2 points, or 0.70%, to 7,464.2, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) advanced 260.4 points, or 1.04%, to 25,236.185 at the opening bell. The upbeat start came as investors prepared for a series of major U.S. corporate earnings reports, key economic data releases and an upcoming interest rate decision later in the week, all of which are expected to provide further insight into the health of the economy and the outlook for monetary policy.

Prepared by Christopher Adams and reviewed by editorial team.