US: Stocks open solidly higher

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks opened solidly higher on Thursday following a mixed batch of US economic data and corporate earnings.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18,173.03, up 112.54 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 11.25 to 2,109.73, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 30.01 at 5,011.71.

US economic data showed a modest decline in weekly jobless claims, but an unexpected 0.4 per cent drop in producer prices in April.

AFP