(Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday as data on rising consumer spending and tightening labor market pointed to a recovery in the economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 69.23 points, or 0.39 percent, to 18,035.3, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 6.34 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,114.92 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 18.99 points, or 0.37 percent, to 5,141.40.
(Reporting By Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Don Sebastian)
