NEW YORK, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday as investors were awaiting a batch of earnings reports.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 44.21 points, or 0.19 percent, to 22,915.93. The S&P 500 gained 4.27 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,557.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 16.96 points, or 0.26 percent, to 6,622.76.
Earnings season kicked off last week with JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America releasing their results. Netflix, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Verizon are among the companies set to report this week.
U.S. video streaming giant Netflix is expected to release its third-quarter earnings report on Monday after the bell. The company was anticipated to post more-than-expected subscriber gains.
Shares of Netflix rose 0.45 percent shortly after the opening bell on Monday.
Meanwhile, traders were digesting the latest comments from the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
Yellen said on Sunday in an international banking seminar that "economic activity in the United States has been growing moderately so far this year, and the labor market has continued to strengthen."
Her remarks suggested that the central bank will soon resume raising interest rates to reflect the strengthening economy, according to CNBC.
Last week, U.S. stocks posted gains as investors digested third quarter earnings reports and the country's major economic data.
For the week, the blue-chip Dow rose 0.4 percent, and the broader S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.2 percent.
