U.S. stocks opened higher Friday after a two-day decline, boosted by better-than-expected earnings of Hewlett-Packard (H-P) and strengthened business confidence in Germany.

H-P' s net profit fell 16 percent to 1.23 billion U.S. dollars in its fiscal first quarter, but the figure was better than market expectations.

The company also provided a guidance that was above expectations. Shares of H-P jumped 8.02 percent to 18.47 dollars a share shortly after the opening bell.

With no major U.S. economic data due in the day, the market was supported by strengthened business sentiment in Germany, which offset downward pressure from a shrinking eurozone economy.

Munich-based think tank Ifo said German business confidence rose for a fourth straight month to 107.4 in February from 104.3 in January, marking the biggest monthly increase in two-and-a-half years.

But the European Commission said in its latest forecast that the eurozone economy faces continued contraction in 2013, with its economic output expected to shrink by 0.3 percent after a 0.6-percent contraction.

With the federal government' s sequester cuts looming large, the stock market wavered through the week and the S&P 500 is struggling hard to log an eighth straight weekly gain. As Congressional lawmakers are in recess this week, there are only four days remained for them to tackle the fiscal problem.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 66.66, or 0.48 percent, to 13,947.28. The S&P 500 Index was up 7.24, or 0.48 percent, to 1,509.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 19.50, or 0.62 percent, to 3,150.99. Endi

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