Brands Post Gains

Stocks posted gains today on Wall Street. Brands such as Bank of America, Microsoft, and General Motors climbed in the wake of falling jobless claims and rising producer price data. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims declined by 13,000 to 348,000 last week. Meanwhile, January producer price numbers were up. The Producer Price Index edged up 0.1% last month after slipping 0.1% in December. The core price, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.4% in January. The largest increase since July, this follows a 0.3% rise in December. On another note, the Census Bureau said housing starts jumped 1.5% to 699,000 in January from a revised 689,000 in December. Economists had expected starts to increase by 2% to 670,000. Looking ahead, consumer price data for January will be released tomorrow. 

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