US stock market opens higher

NEW YORK (AA) – The stock market opened higher Friday with positive macroeconomic data and rise in oil prices.

The Dow Jones was up 127 points to begin the day at 18,270 and the S&P gained 12 points to start at 2,163. The Nasdaq added 23 points to open at 5,292.

At the first bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 0.2 percent at $48.22 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude was trading at $50.13 with a 0.1 percent gain.

Personal income increased 0.2 percent in August, compared to one month earlier, and was in line with market consensus, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce earlier Friday.

Personal spending, however, failed to meet market expectation of a 0.1 percent increase; but, remained unchanged in August, compared to the previous month, according to the Commerce Department.