U.S. stocks open higher after GDP report

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher Thursday as Wall Street digested the country's newly-released economic growth data.

U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, above market consensus of 2.0 percent, according to the third estimate released by the Commerce Department. In the third quarter of 2016, real GDP increased 3.5 percent.

Meanwhile, in the week ending March 25, the advanced figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 258,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 261,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 254,250, an increase of 7,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 246,500.

Federal Reserve officials were also in focus. A handful of Fed speakers, including Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester and New York Fed President William Dudley, will speak later Thursday.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.85 points, or 0.05 percent, to 20,670.17. The S&P 500 edged up 0.20 point, or 0.01 percent, to 2,361.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 4.06 points, or 0.07 percent, to 5,901.61.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks closed mixed as investors meditated on the start of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union. Endi