U.S. stocks closed mostly higher Friday as investors parsed through strong bank earnings and American economic data. In U.S. economic news, retail sales rose 0.6 percent in September, matching expectations. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said that its producer price index for final demand increased 0.3 percent after being unchanged in August. Also, business inventories increased 0.2 percent in August. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Janet Yellen said that the central bank might want to let inflation run hotter for a while. In corporate news, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all posted better-than-expected quarterly results, beating estimates on both the top and bottom lines. The dollar gained 0.47 percent against a basket of currencies. Light sweet crude oil for November delivery dropped 0.7 percent to $50.10 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures fell $2.60 to $1,255 per ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average added 39.98, or 0.22 percent, to 18,138.92. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index increased 0.43, or 0.02 percent, to 2,132.98. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed 0.83, or 0.02 percent, to 5,214.16.
