US stocks edge higher, Dow Jones rises above 35,000

The main US stock indices edged higher in early trading on Friday, after the release of upbeat economic data.

Data showed that the US retail sales index rose 0.6% in June, beating forecasts of a drop by 0.4%.

The core retail sales index (excluding fuel and food prices) rose 1.3% in June, beating forecasts of 0.4%.

The markets are closely focused on the quarterly earnings results season, after several major banks announced their results this week, and the US tech companies will announce their results the next few days.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 0.1% or 32 points to 35,009 as of 14:15 GMT, and S&P 500 rose 0.3% or 10 points to 4,371, while Nasdaq rose 0.3% or 50 points to 14,611.