NEW YORK, Oct 1 — Wall Street stocks opened higher today, beginning the fourth quarter on a positive note ahead of key economic data and trade talks.

Investors are looking ahead to talks later this month between top US and Chinese officials with hopes for progress towards a long-term trade deal and a halt on new tariff actions.

The talks come amid signs the US economy is slowing, though a note from S&P said yesterday that a recession over the next 12 months is "unlikely.”

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 27,038.72, up 0.5 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 also gained 0.5 per cent, rising to 2,992.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.8 per cent to 8,060.19.

Key data releases this week include reports from the Institute for Supply Management on manufacturing and services sector activity, as well as the September US jobs report.

Futures markets are close to evenly split on whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again later this month.

Another wildcard is third-quarter earnings reports, which will start being released in about two weeks. Companies in the S&P 500 are projected to see a drop of 3.7 per cent in profits compared with the year-ago period, according to FactSet. — AFP