US stocks open higher on solid retail sales

New York - Wall Street stocks opened higher on Thursday, adding to gains from the prior session following a solid report on US retail sales.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18 060.19, up 59.79 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.30% to 2 111.62, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.32%.

The three leading indices each jumped 1.2% or more on Wednesday, snapping a four-day streak of flat or negative trade.

US retail sales in May rose 1.2%, according to Commerce Department data, better than the 1.1% gain projected by analysts.

European stocks rose sharply on the greater optimism about a deal to avert a Greek debt default.