U.S. stocks open higher amid economic data

NEW YORK, April 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday as investors digested newly-released economic reports.

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March 2018 came in at 494.6 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 0.6 percent from the previous month and beating market consensus, the Commerce Department announced Monday.

Meanwhile, business activity grew at a solid clip in New York State, according to firms responding to the April 2018 Empire State Manufacturing Survey.

The headline general business conditions index, at 15.8, remained firmly in positive territory, although its seven-point decline from its March level pointed to a somewhat slower pace of growth.

Investors also kept a close eye on U.S.-led strikes on Syria over the weekend. The United States, along with its allies Britain and France, launched a surprise missile attack against Syrian military positions early Saturday morning, causing a flurry of mixed reactions across the Middle East.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 163.40 points, or 0.67 percent, to 24,523.54. The S&P 500 increased 16.27 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,672.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 46.49 points, or 0.65 percent, to 7,153.14.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday as investors digested the latest earnings reports amid economic data. Enditem