 "A Wall Street sign is pictured in the rain outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York.")
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.
