July 14 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq opened higher on Tuesday after softer-than-expected inflation data fueled bets that the Federal Reserve could take a less hawkish stance on interest rates, while investors assessed second-quarter results from major U.S. banks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 452.3 points, or 0.86%, at the open to 52046.36. The S&P 500 .SPX rose 21.4 points, or 0.28%, to 7536.7​, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 142.3 points, or 0.55%, to 26015.492.