Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, as ongoing speculation over possible stimulus measures in China to boost growth supported global equity markets, while investors were eyeing an upcoming speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 gained 0.73%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.71%, while the Nasdaq jumped 0.90%.
Market sentiment remained supported after Chinese premier Li Keqiang said Friday the country has policies in place to support economic growth. The remarks eased concerns over recent signs of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.
U.S. equities also gained ground after data on Friday showed that U.S. consumer spending rose 0.3% last month after a downwardly revised gain of 0.2% in January.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) gained 0.59% as its Optum technology unit was credited with helping fix the Obamacare website and was reportedly increasingly being used by state officials to salvage their troubled exchanges.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) added to gains, with shares up 0.45% following news on Friday that the iPhone 6 will be released in September and will likely be offered in 4.7- and 5.5-inch versions with higher resolution screens than the iPhone 5 and 5s.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) rallied 1.84% after saying it has no plans to offer a free streaming media service. The comments came ahead of a media event scheduled in New York on Wednesday.
Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) saw shares advance 0.83% after the electric car maker reached an agreement with New York State on how it may sell cars. Tesla will be allowed to keep its five currently licensed retail locations, but additional locations will need to follow state dealer franchise laws.
In the same sector, General Motors (NYSE:GM) dropped 0.46% ahead of Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra's testimony to Congress about the company's vehicle recalls, scheduled on Tuesday. On Friday, GM expanded its recall to 2.6 million vehicles, adding 917,000 more units.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.43%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.24%, Germany's DAX rose 0.33%, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.22%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.39%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 0.90%.