Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, boosted by positive U.S. economic data and optimism that the U.S. may manage to avoid a fiscal crisis.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.46%, the S&P 500 index advanced 0.57%, while the Nasdaq Composite index climbed 0.83%.
The Commerce Department said gross domestic product expanded by 2.7% in the three months to September, up from a preliminary estimate of 2.0%, but below expectations for growth of 2.8%.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell 393,000, from 416,000 the previous week, slightly less than expectations for a decline to 390,000.
Market sentiment found support earlier, after U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday he hoped to reach an agreement with Congress before Christmas to avoid automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1, which could threaten U.S. and global growth.
Johnson & Johnson rose 0.22%, after an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday voted that one of the company's experimental drugs for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis appears to be safe and effective.
In the tech sector, Google added 0.30% after Oracle Investment Research raised the operator of the world’s most popular search engine to buy from hold.
Also on the upside, Infoblox skyrocketed 28.75%, after the network and data-services provider said it expects fiscal-year adjusted earnings per share of 17 cents to 21 cents, compared with its previous forecast for 4 cents to 7 cents.
Research In Motion added to gains, with shares rallying 8.11% after the BlackBerry maker was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at Goldman Sachs.
Among earnings, Kroger jumped 3.39% after the supermarket chain beat earnings forecasts and lifted its profit outlook for the year.
On the downside, Tiffany plunged 7.41% after the luxury goods retailer missed earnings expectations and slashed its full-year profit forecast, citing difficult economic conditions in addition to tough comparisons to a year ago.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.22%, France’s CAC 40 surged 1.23%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.82%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rallied 1.02%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.99%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 0.99%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on pending new home sales.