U.S. stocks open higher on upbeat data

NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday as economic data came out overall positive.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 48.47 points, or 0.18 percent, to 26,441.26. The S&P 500 increased 7.61 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,846.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 25.66 points, or 0.35 percent, to 7,436.83.

The economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, slightly lower than economists' expectations, according to a preliminary estimate of the U.S. gross domestic product by the Commerce Department on Friday.

The data showed increasing imports due to strong consumer spending, which indicated a healthy activity of the economy.

The Commerce Department also reported Friday that orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rose 2.9 percent in December, the fastest pace since June 2017, beating market expectations.

Wall Street continued to monitor the latest corporate earnings reports. Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported as of Friday morning, 77 percent reported better-than-expected earnings while 79 percent surpassed sales estimates, according to U.S. financial information company FactSet. Enditem