US stock indices opened the fourth session of this week higher for the first time in three sessions, led by Walmart and Cisco, as the third quarter earnings season draws to an end, and following a stream of data from the US, the world's largest economy.
Earlier US data showed unemployment claims rose to 249 thousand in the week ending November 11 from 239 thousand in the previous reading, while analysts expected a drop to 235 thousand, as import prices slowed down to 0.2% from 0.8% in September.
The Philly Manufacturing Index slowed down sharply to 18.9 in November from 27.9 in October, missing analysts' expectations of a smaller drop to 24.5.
US industrial production rose 0.9% in October, accelerating from 0.4% in September, revised upwards from 0.3%, while analysts expected a 0.5% increase, and finally, the Capacity Utilization Rate rose to 77.0 in October from 76.4%, beating expectations of a dip to 76.3%.
Otherwise, investors now await the House of Representatives' vote on the tax reform bill, amid expectations the bill will be passed after some amendments by the Senate to conform with the Congress' budget rules.
As of 04:50 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.74%, or 19.03 points to 2,583.65, while Dow Jones climbed 0.74%, or 171.72 points to 23,443.00.
Tech-heavy NASDAQ rallied 1.15%, or 77.47 points to 6,783.68.