US stocks open higher; S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs

Major US equity indices edged higher during opening trade on Thursday, with both the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite Index hitting fresh record highs and the Dow Jones Industrial Average moving within striking distance of its record high.

At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained around 30-points to 21,013, while the broader S&P 500 Index added 2-points to 2,404. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index climbed nearly 7-points to 6,156.

Investors seems to have shrugged off the report that the US President Donald Trump shared classified information with top Russian officials at a meeting last week, while rising oil prices, amid renewed optimism over OPEC-led production cut deal, boosting investors appetite for riskier-assets - like equities.

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On the economic data front, the US housing starts and building permits fell short of expectations, while industrial production and capacity utilization rate came-in well above market estimates. 

Meanwhile, investors remained worried over the recent slew of disappointing US macro data, which now seems to have dampened Fed rate expectations. In fact, probability for such an action in June has now dropped below 70% as compared to last week's 83%, prior to the release of weaker retail sales and inflation data.