NEW YORK, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Tuesday as investors digested the latest economic data while monitoring the latest development of U.S.-Mexico border wall funding.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 297.30 points, or 01.26 percent, to 23,828.65. The S&P 500 gained 27.21 points, or 1.07 percent, to 2,576.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 78.78 points, or 1.15 percent, to 6,902.25.

On the data front, U.S. Labor Department said on Tuesday that the number of job openings fell to 6.9 million on the last business day of November.

Over the month, hires edged down to 5.7 million, quits edged down to 3.4 million, and total separations were little changed at 5.5 million. Within separations, the quits rate and the layoffs and discharges rate were unchanged at 2.3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively, said the department.

Investors were also grappling with an ongoing U.S. federal government shutdown that started over a disagreement on funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver a prime-time address Tuesday night and is expected to talk about the border issue. Enditem

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