US stock market opens higher

NEW YORK (AA) - Wall Street opened higher Thursday after gains in European stock markets created a positive sentiment across the Atlantic.

The Dow Jones rose 19 points to begin the day at 19,569. The S&P 500 was up less than a point to 2,241, while the Nasdaq rose five points to start the day at 5,398.

At the U.S. stock market opening, Germany's DAX index was up 1.33 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE posted a 0.34 percent increase, and France's CAC 40 saw a 0.86 percent gain.

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced earlier Thursday it kept its interest rates unchanged, and it will continue its monthly purchase volume of €80 billion ($86.2 billion) until March 2017.