U.S. stocks open higher on Draghi' s comment

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, as the European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi' s comments signaled further stimulus.

Draghi said on Thursday that the ECB would lose credibility if it did not review its monetary policy stance in March.

Draghi' s comments suggested the central bank is willing to offer more stimulus at its next meeting in March, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The ECB announced earlier on Thursday that its key interest rates would remain unchanged at record low levels.

However, oil prices remained in focus on Thursday after refreshing their multi-year lows on Wednesday, dragged down by a global supply glut. The West Texas Intermediate for February delivery settled at 26.55 U.S. dollars a barrel Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest level since May 2003.

On the economic front, in the week ending Jan. 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 293,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing survey's diffusion index for current activity came out at -3.5 for January, and has now been negative for five consecutive months.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 61.91 points, or 0.39 percent, to 15,828.65. The S&P 500 gained 6.58 points, or 0.35 percent, to 1,865.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index ticked up 7.17 points, or 0.16 percent, to 4,478.86.

U.S. stocks closed lower after wild swings Wednesday, as a further decline in oil prices continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Enditem