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1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks end higher amid economic data

Xinhua, August 15, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks gained after wavering between gains and losses in a narrow range Friday, as investors assessed a batch of economic data that could give a hint on the timing of an interest rate hike.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 69.15 points, or 0.40 percent, to 17,477.40. The S&P 500 rose 8.15 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,091.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 14.68 points, or 0.29 percent, to 5,048.24.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand advanced 0.2 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, beating market expectations of 0.1 percent, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday. Final demand prices went up 0.4 percent in June and 0.5 percent in May.

"Much to chagrin of central bankers, the downward trend in wholesale inflation looks set to get worse as oil sinks to its lowest level in over six years. The Fed is eager to lift, however, and will likely chalk up the fall to another bout of temporary price weakness," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

U.S. industrial production increased 0.6 percent in July after moving up 0.1 percent in June, also above market consensus, the Federal Reserve said Friday.

"This report is likely to be welcomed by the Fed point as further evidence of a manufacturing recovery from the blow dealt by last year's sharp rise in the dollar," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial.

Meanwhile, the preliminary reading of Thomson Reuters/ University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index came in at 92.9 for August, missing market estimates.

In corporate news, J.C. Penney Co. surged 5.58 percent to 8.52 dollars apiece on Friday after reporting quarterly sales that beat market estimates.

The department store chain announced net sales of 2.88 billion U.S. dollars for second quarter 2015, compared to 2.80 billion dollars in the second quarter of 2014.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.6 percent, and the S&P 500 increased 0.7 percent, while the Nasdaq edged up 0.1 percent. Endite