NEW YORK, July 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday as Wall Street was underpinned by the two-day monetary policy testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which opened the door wider for potential rate cuts.

New York Stock Exchange (File Photo: VCG)

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 74.78 points, or 0.28 percent, to 27,162.86. The S&P 500 was up 4.16 points, or 0.14 percent, to 3,004.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 14.02 points, or 0.17 percent, to 8,210.06.

Shares of Deutsche Bank rose around 2.9 percent, after Swiss investment bank UBS upgraded the German bank from "sell" to "neutral," saying the latter's restructuring plan would be backed by the home regulator, which led to a more "balanced risk/reward" scenario.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher in early morning sessions, with the industrials sector up over 0.7 percent, leading the gainers.

During his second day of testimony on Thursday, Powell reiterated that the central bank will always do "what's right for the U.S. economy" and called for the Congress to raise debt limit in a timely manner.

The Dow hit the 27,000 mark for the first time on Thursday. Meanwhile the S&P 500 also hit a record close of over 2,999 points.