U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday as the Commerce Department posted an economic growth rate of 5.3 per cent in the first quarter.

In the opening trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 35.87 to 11,153.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.33 to 1,262.90 and the Nasdaq composite index surged 12.55 to 2,181.83.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy had expanded at a 5.3 percent growth rate in the first quarter, higher than an earlier estimate of 4.8 percent, and the fastest growth rate in two and a half years.

Consumer spending, which accounts for two thirds of overall economic activity, grew by 5.2 percent in the first quarter, the strongest since the third quarter of 2003, according to the report.

The stocks gains came after reports that world crude oil prices dropped sharply on Wednesday. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, slumped by 1.90 U.S. dollars to close at 69.86 dollars a barrel.

Source: Xinhua