US STOCKS-Wall St opens up on oil stocks, financials

(Updates to open)

NEW YORK, July 3 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday as record oil prices boosted energy shares and beaten-down financial shares advanced on bargain-hunting before the July Fourth holiday.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 59.19 points, or 0.53 percent, to 11,274.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 7.10 points, or 0.56 percent, to 1,268.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC inched up 4.98 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,256.44. (Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu, Editing by Kenneth Barry)