Roundup: U.S. stocks end higher amid economic data

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 a share Friday after reporting quarterly sales that beat market estimates.

The department store chain announced net sales of 2.88 billion U.S. dollars for the 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.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, decreased 4.89 percent to end at 12.83 Friday.

In other markets, U.S. oil price bounced back as traders bought the dip after prior day's heavy selloff.

The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery moved up 27 cents to settle at 42.5 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery decreased 19 cents to close at 49.03 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Future Exchange.

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies amid the country's strong economic data.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1119 dollars from 1.1135 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 124.26 Japanese yen, lower than 124.45 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell due to positive U.S. data.

The most active gold contract for December delivery dropped 2.9 U.S. dollars, or 0.26 percent, to settle at 1,112.70 dollars per ounce. Endite