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1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks edge down amid Yellen's testimony

Xinhua, July 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks reversed early gains to end slightly lower Wednesday, as investors digested Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's remarks delivered in the first of her two-day Congressional testimony.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.41 points, or 0.02 percent, to 18,050.17. The S&P 500 lost 1.55 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,107.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 5.95 points, or 0.12 percent, to 5,098.94.

The Fed is on track to raise interest rates later this year, as most Fed officials expect the economy to continue to gain growth momentum over the remainder of this year, said Yellen in her testimony Wednesday.

Low oil prices and ongoing employment gains should continue to bolster consumer spending, while financial conditions generally remain supportive of growth. In addition, the highly accommodative monetary policies in other countries should work to strengthen global growth. Those factors would support the U.S. economy to continue expansion, Yellen said.

Yellen's optimism appeared to be supported by the Fed's Beige Book and the upbeat economic data.

According to the Beige Book released Wednesday afternoon, all 12 Federal Reserve Districts indicated that economic activity expanded from mid-May through June.

On the economic front, the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand advanced 0.4 percent in June, beating market consensus of 0.3 percent, the Department of Labor reported Wednesday.

U.S. industrial production increased 0.3 percent in June, also above market estimates of 0.2 percent, according to the Federal Reserve Wednesday.

Overseas, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday called on his radical left Syriza party parliamentary group to remain united in critical times for the country, amid a string of anti-austerity strikes and protests.

A draft bill containing prior actions Greece needs to take under the debt deal reached in Brussels, Belgium, Monday has been tabled in the Greek parliament, which was scheduled to be put to vote Wednesday evening.

In Asia, China's economy posted a better-than-expected growth of 7 percent in the second quarter of 2015, as the filtering through of the government's pro-growth policies and reform measures pave way for steady improvement in the latter half of the year.

In corporate news, Bank of America Corporation surged 3.21 percent to 17.68 dollars apiece on Wednesday after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results.

The bank announced net income of 5.3 billion U.S. dollars, or 0. 45 dollars per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2015, compared to 2.3 billion dollars, or 0.19 dollars per share, in the year-ago period. Endite