U.S. stocks open higher ahead of Friday's jobs report

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday, the last trading day of the quarter, as investors awaited the key nonfarm payroll report due out Friday.

Traders were looking to the key monthly employment data and more hints on future monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

On the economic front, in the week ending March 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 276,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 265,000, announced the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

Meanwhile, investors still cheered Fed Chair Janet Yellen's cautious stance on interest rate hikes.

"Given the risks to the outlook, I consider it appropriate for the FOMC to proceed cautiously in adjusting policy," Yellen said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York earlier this week.

Some analysts even believed the central bank is likely to raise interest rates just once this year and no more than twice next year based on Yellen's dovish remarks.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 25.96 points, or 0.15 percent, to 17,742.62. The S&P 500 edged up 0.31 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,064.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.07 points, or 0.04 percent, to 4,871.36. Endi