U.S. stocks open higher after Greek vote

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday as Greek parliament approved a bill with an overwhelming majority to give the go-ahead to the debt deal the government reached Monday with international creditors.

The parliament also agreed on the first round of reform measures requested as prerequisites for the immediate release of international aid to avert debt default and Grexit from the European Union (EU).

After the voting, the Greek leader was expected to proceed with a wide cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, according to local political analysts.

On the economic front, in the week ending July 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 281,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised level and roughly in line with market consensus, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 282,500, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average.

U.S. stocks snapped a four-day winning streak to end slightly lower Wednesday, as investors digested Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's remarks delivered in the first of her two-day Congressional testimony.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 73.22 points, or 0.41 percent, to 18,123.39. The S&P 500 gained 11.02 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,118.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 37.02 points, or 0.73 percent, to 5,135.96. Endi