Wall Street opens higher, buoyed by energy

US stock indices opened the fourth session of the week higher, led by the energy sector after crude prices hit 3-year highs, while the fourth-quarter earnings season for major American banks and corporations gears up. 

Crude's gains overcame earlier disappointing US data, which showed producer prices falling for the first time in a year and a half, while unemployment claims rose unexpectedly to a three-month high. 

Otherwise, White House economic adviser Gary Kohen said earlier that the stock market is not too high right now, and the tax cuts have begun to have an impact on the economy, with wages rising and optimism improving. 

Last month, President Donald Trump singed into law the $1.5 trillion tax reform bill, which cuts the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, while also signing a stopgap government spending bill to prevent a government shutdown, in turn underpinning Wall Street to successive record highs. 

As of 03:21 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.24%, or 6.69 points to 2,754.92, while Dow Jones added 0.33%, or 83.17 points to 25,452.30. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ advanced 0.22%, or 16 points to 7,169.57.