NASDAQ, S&P 500 set new record highs at the open

U.S. stock indices opened higher on Thursday, with NASDAQ and S&P 500 hitting new record highs, following earlier data from the world's largest economy, which showed unemployment claims rose less than expected last week, while the goods trade deficit widened unexpectedly in April, after the Federal Reserve released the minutes from the May 2-3 meeting yesterday.

Markets have all but priced in a probable 25 basis points rate hike in the Federal Reserve's next June meeting, with a probability of 83%, while chances of an additional rate hike this year fell to 46% from 50% before the release of Fed's minutes.  

Investors now await the second reading for US GDP growth for the first quarter, expected to show a 0.9% growth, up from 0.7% in the preliminary reading, the lowest in three years, which made the Fad delay increasing interest rates in the May meeting to make sure the slowdown was transitory and not structural.

Markets also await durable goods data for April, expected to drop.. which would unravel the Fed's description of the first quarter growth slowdown as transitory, and upend their projections for later economic recovery this year.  

As of 03:36 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.47%, or 11.42 points to 2,415.81, while Dow Jones added 0.42%, or 87.89 points to 21,200.31. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ climbed 0.61%, or 37.65 points to 6,200.68.