U.S. stock rose at the start of trade Friday, with the major benchmarks reaching new highs in just the third week of the year, after data on new U.S. home construction showed it surging to 13-year highs in December.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1% at 29,334, the S&P 500 index rose 0.2% at 3,322, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.3% to reach 9,381 at Friday's start.

Gains on the day have been bolstered by strong economic data. December housing starts showed home constructing rising 16.9%, to annual rate of 1.608 million units, to the fastest pace since 2006, well above the consensus forecast of 1.375 million, according to a MarketWatch poll of economists.

 Investors optimism wasn't dented by China reporting its worst annual growth in three decades of 6.1%.

Source : Market Watch