U.S. stocks open higher on economic data, oil prices

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday as investors eyed a batch of newly-released economic data and oil prices.

U.S. new orders for manufactured durable goods in April increased 7.7 billion U.S. dollars, or 3.4 percent, to 235.9 billion dollars, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The increase followed a rise of 1.9 percent in March.

Meanwhile, the figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims in the week ended May 21 was revised downward by 10,000, the Labor Department announced Thursday.

Oil prices extended gains on Thursday, as U.S. crude prices top 50 dollars a barrel for the first time this year in early trading.

Meanwhile, investors tried to shake off worries that the possibility of a June rate hike becomes higher after the release of the Federal Reserve's hawkish minutes from its April meeting. Latest speeches from Fed officials indicated a hike sooner rather than later.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 27.46 points, or 0.15 percent, at 17,878.97. The S&P 500 gained 2.82 points, or 0.13 percent, at 2,093.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5.75 points, or 0.12 percent, to 4,900.64.

U.S. stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday, as investors assessed news of a new bailout deal for Greece and rising oil prices. Endi