Wall Street opens at fresh record highs amid Powell's Senate testimony

US stock indices opened the second session of the week at fresh record highs for Dow Jones, Standard and Poor's 500, and NASDAQ Composite, led by the tech sector. 

Federal Reserve Chair Designate Jerome Powell has started to testify on his nomination as the Federal Reserve Chair before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, in Washington DC.

Earlier US data showed the House Price Index slowed down to 0.3% in October from 0.8% in September, missing expectations, while New York Federal Reserve Governor William Dudley delivered opening remarks at the annual conference on the evolving structure of the US treasury market, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Other US data showed the Richmond Manufacturing Index rose to 30 from 12 in October, beating expectations of 14 with ease, while the CB Consumer Confidence survey rose to 129.5 in November from 126.2 in October, beating expectations of 123.9. 

As of 04:47 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.33%, or 8.48 points to 2,609.90, while Dow Jones climbed 0.35%, or 83.34 points to 23,664.12. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ climbed 0.15%, or 10.36 points to 6,888.88.