Stocks Struggled at Open after Yellen, Data

U.S. stocks struggled at open on Wednesday as investors assessed a batch of economic data and testimony from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 12.93 points, or 0.07%, to 18,053. The S&P 500 was up 1.35 points, or 0.06%, to 2,110.51. The Nasdaq Composite gained 16.21 points, or 0.32%, to 5,121.10.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday the U.S. central bank remains on track to raise interest rates this year, with labor markets expected to steadily improve and turmoil abroad unlikely to throw the U.S. economy off track.

U.S. producer prices rose more than expected in June as the cost of gasoline and a range of other goods rose, indicating the
recent oil-driven downward spiral in prices was abating. The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand
increased 0.4 percent last month after increasing 0.5 percent in May. A month ago it had said factory production dipped 0.2 percent in May.

U.S. factory production failed to advance for a second straight month in June, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday. The Fed said manufacturing output was unchanged both last month and in May.

Bank of America Corp.’s quarterly profit more than doubled as the second-largest U.S. bank by assets put most of its legal woes behind it.The bank reported a profit of $5.32 billion, or 45 cents a share, beating analyst expectations.