NEW YORK (AFP) - United States stocks on Friday opened higher after the Commerce Department said third-quarter US gross domestic product grew much faster than previously estimated.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 51.30 points (0.32 per cent) to 16,230.38.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 4.43 (0.24 per cent) to 1,814.03, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index increased 11.16 (0.28 per cent) to 4,069.30.

The GDP report, the third and final estimate for the third quarter, put growth at 4.1 per cent instead of the previously estimated 3.6 per cent.

Consumer spending that was much stronger than initially believed led the revised estimate, the department said.

The GDP report came two days after the US Federal Reserve scaled back its stimulus program after determining that the US economy had improved sufficiently for a modest taper to Fed bond-buying.

The GDP revision "makes the Fed's tapering decision look pretty timely in hindsight," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.