U.S. stocks open higher on upbeat data

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher Wednesday, as Wall Street digested a batch of generally positive data.

U.S. new orders for manufactured durable goods in October increased 6.9 billion U.S. dollars or 3.0 percent to 239.0 billion dollars, well above market consensus, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday. This increase followed a 0.8-percent September decrease.

In a separate report, the department said U.S. personal income in October increased 68.1 billion dollars, or 0.4 percent, on par with market estimates. Personal consumption expenditures increased 15.2 billion dollars, or 0.1 percent, in October.

Meanwhile, in the week ending November 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims decreased 12,000 from the previous week's revised level to 260,000, below market expectations of 270,000, reported the U.S. Labor Department Wednesday.

The 4-week moving average was 271,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised average.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.03 points, or 0.08 percent, to 17,827.22. The S&P 500 edged up 0.91 point, or 0.04 percent, to 2,090.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 4.85 points, or 0.10 percent, to 5,107.66.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks erased early losses to close mildly higher, as investors digested the country's revised economic growth for the third quarter of 2015 amid geopolitical tension. Endit