US stocks opened higher overnight after a strong rise in November retail sales encouraged traders as the holiday shopping season nears its peak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 10.07 points (0.09 per cent) to 11,438.63, while the S&P 500 index, a broader measure of the market, was up 1.70 points (0.14 per cent) to 1242.23.
The tech-rich Nasdaq rose 5.45 points (0.20 per cent) to 2624.91.
Shortly before the opening bell, the Commerce Department released data showing US retail sales rose more than expected in November for a fifth straight month of gains.
Retail and food services sales for November rose 0.8 per cent from the prior month to $US378.7 billion ($381.52 billion), the Commerce Department said.
The increase was much better than the 0.5 per cent rise expected by economists and signalled Americans were more willing to open their wallets, fuelling consumer spending that makes up two-thirds of US economic activity.
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"Overall, the November retail sales report was a strong report that flew in the face of the weak wage growth reported in the November employment report," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.
Investors were also keeping an eye on the overnightmeeting of the Federal Reserve's top policy-making body, which was expected to reaffirm its economic stimulus plan and maintain record low interest rates.
The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to note a slight improvement in the US economic outlook, but stick to its massive $US600 billion ($604.47 billion) asset purchasing policy launched last month in a bid to boost the recovery.
"Traders are treading cautiously ahead of the afternoon conclusion of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting," said analysts at Charles Schwab.
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