Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, as Thursday's strong U.S. data continued to fuel optimism over the strength of the economic recovery and investors eyed an upcoming report on consumer sentiment.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 edged up 0.09%, the S&P 500 added 0.21%, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.29%.
U.S. equities had found support on Thursday after preliminary data showed that the U.S. economy grew more than expected in the second quarter, while a separate report showed that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined unexpectedly last week.
Earlier Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that U.S. personal spending fell 0.1% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.2% rise, after an increase of 0.4% in June.
The report also showed that U.S. personal income rose 0.2% in July, less than the expected 0.3% gain. The change in personal income for June was revised to a 0.5% increase from a previously estimated 0.4% rise.
Investors were also focusing on developments in Ukraine after the nation's President Petro Poroshenko said Russian troops have "de facto" entered his country.
Among tech stocks, Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares added 0.16% following reports the company's X laboratory division is developing drones that can handle deliveries, a move to compete with rival company Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s own shipment service.
Shares in Amazon.com were up 0.36% at the open of the U.S. trading session.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) added to gains, up 0.51% as the tech giant is reportedly planning to introduce a wearable gadget along with new iPhones on September 9.
In the auto sector, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) jumped 1.85% after the electric automaker signed an agreement with mobile-phone company China United Network Communications (SS:600050) to build 400 charging points in 120 Chinese cities.
Elsewhere, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) dipped 0.07% as New York regulators were said to be threatening to disrupt the company's acquisition of Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) unless the two groups agree to costly concessions.
If New York rejects the acquisition, the cable providers could be forced to abandon the $42.5 billion deal. Time Warner Cable Inc. shares were down 0.16%.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mostly steady. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 eased up 0.06%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.02%, Germany's DAX edged 0.17% lower, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.04%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng eased up 0.04%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.23%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on personal spending and revised data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.