Wall Street opens higher, led by tech

US stock indices opened the first session of the week higher, buoyed by the tech sector and Berkshire Hathaway, as the fourth-quarter earnings season draws to an end. 

Earlier US data showed new home sales fell 7.8% in January to an annualized 593 thousand units, compared to a 7.6% drop in December to 643 thousand, revised from a 9.3% decline, while analysts expected a 3.5% rise to 647 thousand units. 

Tomorrow, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to testify on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report before the House Financial Services Committee, in Washington DC.

As of 03:58 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.33%, or 9.12 points to 2,756.60, while Dow Jones added 0.63%, or 160.53 points to 25,470.52. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ advanced 0.39%, or 28.66 points to 7,366.05.