US stocks open higher, extending rally

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks opened higher Monday, extending the positive move of the last two weeks ahead of key US data and an ECB monetary policy decision.

Major US indices won solid gains last week, boosted by news the United States and China will resume high-level trade talks next month. Recent US economic data has been mixed.

This week's calendar includes reports on consumer prices and retail sales for August. The European Central Bank is also expected to announce new stimulus measures.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 percent at 26,821.63.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent, rising to 2,983.85, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index had won 0.2 percent at 8,117.02.

US stocks were under pressure much of August amid escalations in the US-China trade war and gloomier sentiment on the global economy. But markets have pivoted somewhat as the calendar turned to September.

Among individual companies, AT&T shot up five percent after activist fund Elliott Management announced it had taken a $3.2 billion stake in the telecom giant and would press for asset sales, spending cuts and shareholder distributions.