Wall Street opens higher boosted by strong gains in tech shares

• S&P 500 Technology Index adds more than 1% on Thursday.
• Market mood remains positive on upbeat earnings figures.

Major equity indexes in the United States started the day in the positive territory on Thursday boosted by the strong performance of technology shares. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was posting small gains on the day while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were adding 0.15% and 0.75% on the day.

Microsoft shares are up more than 1% on better-than-forecasted earnings from cloud computing services supported the S&P 500 Technology Index, which was last up 1.2% on the day to lead the winners. 

On the other hand, defensive sectors, Healthcare, Consumer Staples, and Real Estate, are posting modest losses. Reflecting the positive sentiment, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, is losing more than 1% on Thursday.