US stocks rise ahead of Trump inauguration

Wall Street stocks opened higher Friday ahead of the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump amid expectations of pro-growth economic policies from the new administration.

Trump's election in November, coupled with the Republican sweep of Congress, raised expectations for business-friendly policies, including tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks. US stocks bulldozed to multiple records in November and December, although the market has been choppy in recent weeks.

"The axiom that has made the rounds in recent weeks is that you 'buy the election and sell the inauguration,' which is to impart the view that upside will likely be harder to come by following the inauguration since a lot of hope wrapped up in potential policy actions has already been priced in," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 percent at 19,805.28.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent to 2,274.06, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also advanced 0.5 percent to 5,566.53.

China's economic growth in the fourth quarter came in at 6.8 percent, slightly above expectations.

Earnings were mixed.

General Electric fell 1.8 percent after a 22 percent drop in oil and gas revenues hit overall sales. However, net income for the fourth quarter was $3.5 billion, up about 38 percent from the year-ago period excluding earnings from discontinued operations.

Procter & Gamble jumped 2.8 percent as it raised its 2017 forecast for organic sales growth from two percent to two-three percent.