US Stocks Start Higher as Latest Earnings Impress Stocks are opening higher as traders welcome some more positive corporate earnings news. Wal-Mart Stores rose 3 percent, the most in the Standard & Poor's 500 index, after reporting income and revenue early Thursday that came in ahead of what analysts were expecting. Media conglomerate Viacom also rose 2 percent after its own results topped forecasts. The S&P 500 rose four points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,043 as of 9:35 a.m. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 47 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,661. The Nasdaq composite rose 12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,687. Crude oil fell 84 cents to $76.35 a barrel.