U.S. equity markets opened higher and extended their gains in early morning trading after a plethora of key economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) advanced 78.33 points, or 0.6%, to 12,569.94 while the S&P 500 Index climbed 8.51 points, or 0.7%, to 1326.23.
Weekly jobless claims came in at 405,000, beating expectations of 410,000.
June retail sales rose 0.1% on a month-over-month basis, ahead of the 0.2% decline forecasted by economists. Excluding automobile sales, retail sales were unchanged, in line with estimates.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) – a key measure of inflation – dropped 0.4% in June, more than the 0.2% decline expected by economists. The Core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.3%, slightly above the 0.2% consensus estimate among economists.
Despite the encouraging economic data, gold prices held firm in positive territory near $1,590 per ounce. Earlier this morning the yellow metal hit a new all-time record high of $1,594.90 per ounce.
Silver outperformed gold, rising $1.00, or 2.6%, to $39.22 per ounce amid broad-based gains in commodities.
Gold and silver were supported in part by weakness in the U.S. dollar, which fell against a basket of foreign currencies. The euro rallied 0.7% to 1.4210 against the dollar this morning.
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