Wall Street indexes open higher, on track for weekly gains

The Associated Press

Stocks are off to a solid start on Wall Street Thursday, keeping the market on track for solid gains in this holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 index added 0.5% in the early going, led by technology companies and banks. Safe-play sectors like real estate and utilities lagged behind. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was also up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq was up 0.2%. European markets were higher, and Asian markets closed higher overnight. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.48%. U.S. markets will be closed Friday in observance of Christmas.