Stocks advance after retail sales report

Major U.S. stock indexes edged higher after the federal government reported an uptick last month in consumer spending, a major driver of the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 26 points, or 0.2%, to 13,196 shortly after the opening bell on Wall Street.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 3 points, or 0.2%, to 1,407. The Nasdaq was up 7 points, or 0.2%, to 3,029.

Consumer spending increased in July, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. U.S. retail and food-services sales increased 0.8% last month from June, the agency said. That’s up from a 0.7% decline in June from the prior month.

Investors, meanwhile, got downbeat economic data on Europe. Gross domestic product in the Eurozone declined 0.2% in the second quarter, compared with the previous three-month period. There was 0% growth in the first quarter, according to Eurostat.

Of major European economies, the only one to see growth in the second quarter, compared to the previous quarter, was Germany (0.3%). France saw 0% growth.

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