 "Wall Street opens higher; data awaited")
Wall Street opened slightly higher on Thursday after surveys showed Chinese manufacturing activity was stronger than feared and investors awaited a raft of US economic data.
US weekly jobless claims data pointed to ongoing tightening in the labor market.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 41.23 points, or 0.25%, to 16,325.93, the S&P 500 gained 3.75 points, or 0.2%, to 1,923.78 and the Nasdaq composite added 4.60 points, or 0.1%, to 4,624.76.