Wall Street opens higher as investors shrug off shutdown fears

U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, putting the major indexes on track for three straight weeks of gains as hopes of a strong earnings season overshadowed fears of a potential U.S. government shutdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12.73 points, or 0.05 percent, to 26,030.54. The S&P 500 gained 6.71 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,804.74. The Nasdaq Composite added 23.45 points, or 0.32 percent, to 7,319.50. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)