US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-S&P 500 opens slightly higher with focus on earnings, economic data

Jan 16 (Reuters) - The benchmark S&P 500 opened slightly higher on Thursday following strong gains in the previous session, as investors assessed softer-than-expected retail sales data and a set of strong bank earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 68.7 points, or 0.16%, at the open to 43,290.25. The S&P 500 .SPX rose 13.7 points, or 0.23%, to 5,963.61​, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 62.6 points, or 0.32%, to 19,573.867.

(Reporting by Sukriti Gupta; Editing by Maju Samuel)

((Sukriti.Gupta@thomsonreuters.com;))