U.S. stocks open higher amid economic data

NEW YORK, March 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday as Wall Street meditated on a string of economic growth reports.

U.S. personal income increased 64.7 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.4 percent, in January, above market consensus of a 0.3-percent gain, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

In January, disposable personal income increased 134.8 billion dollars, or 0.9 percent, while personal consumption expenditures increased 31.2 billion dollars, or 0.2 percent.

In the week ending Feb. 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 210,000, the lowest since Dec. 6, 1969 when it was 202,000, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 220,500, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since December 27, 1969 when it was 219,750.

Meanwhile, investors kept a close eye on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who is scheduled to deliver the semiannual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee later in the morning.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30.08 points, or 0.12 percent, to 25,059.28. The S&P 500 increased 4.44 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,718.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 17.28 points, or 0.24 percent, to 7,290.29.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks reversed early gains to end sharply lower, as investors digested the country's economic growth data for the fourth quarter of 2017. Enditem