U.S. stocks open mildly higher on consumer spending data

U.S. stocks opened little changed on Monday as data showed consumer spending remained soft in January.

Personal income, reflecting money collected from wages, investments and government aid, increased 0.3 percent in January, said the U.S. Commerce Department Monday. Real disposable personal income, which accounts for taxes and inflation, rose 0.4 percent.

Personal spending, however, fell 0.2 percent in January. In the United States, consumer spending accounts for more than two-third of the country's economy activity.

Investors also digested Chinese economic news. The People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, on Saturday announced that it would cut the benchmark deposit and loan interest rate by 25 basis points (bps) starting March 1.

After the cut, the one-year deposit rate stood at 2.5 percent, while one-year lending was at 5.35 percent.

In corporate news, Berkshire Hathaway is in focus following the release of Warren Buffett's annual investment letter and the company's latest earnings. Dipping to 4.16 billion U.S. dollars from 4.99 billion dollars a year earlier, Berkshire posted a 16.7 percent decline in the fourth quarter net profit over the weekend.

Buffett said it was likely that although Berkshire would outperform other companies in the future, its size may make it impossible to equal past gains.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40.59 points, or 0.22 percent, to 18,173.29. The S&P 500 gained 2.27 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,106.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 13.85 points, or 0.28 percent, to 4,977.38.

U.S. stocks fell after a volatile trading Friday, but still closed the month on a strong note, as data showed the U.S. economy returned to moderate growth in the fourth quarter of 2014. Endi