All three major US stock indexes were up in late-morning trading Tuesday ahead of an early market close due to the holiday.

In company news, American Airlines (AAL) experienced a technical issue on Tuesday that briefly affected its flight operations during one of the busiest travel days of the year. Earlier in the day, a notice from the Federal Aviation Administration showed that American Airlines had requested a nationwide ground stop for all of its flights. The ground stop, which was later lifted, lasted for about one hour, the company said in a statement. Shares of the company were down 0.4% near noon.

The strike by Starbucks (SBUX) union workers' strike is expected to expand to more than 300 stores across the US on Tuesday, amid stalled contract negotiations. Over 5,000 Starbucks workers are expected to join the strike before Christmas, Starbucks Workers United told MT Newswires. Shares of Starbucks were up 2.4%.

The biggest banks plan to sue the Federal Reserve over its annual bank stress tests, CNBC reported Tuesday, citing a person familiar with the matter. A lawsuit could come as early as Tuesday morning, the person reportedly told CNBC.

Apple (AAPL) asked a federal district court on Monday to be added as a defendant in the antitrust case against Alphabet's (GOOG) Google over online search. Apple said that Google "cannot represent Apple's interests at this stage" because the plaintiffs' proposed final judgment "implicates concerns unique to Apple." Apple shares were up 0.7%, while those of Google were up 0.4%.

Price: 17.23, Change: -0.02, Percent Change: -0.12