US markets close higher

U.S. equity markets closed higher Monday but gains were held in check by retail data. The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.4 percent in June, half the rate expected. With vehicle sales taken out of the equation, retail sales were flat in the month. Blue-chip stocks on the Dow Jones industrial average added 19.96 points or 0.13 percent to 15,484.26, a new closing high. The Standard & Poor\'s 500 gained 2.31 points or 0.14 percent to 1,682.50, also a record close. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 7.41 points or 0.21 percent to 3,607.49. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,905 stocks advanced and 1,166 declined on a volume of 2.5 billion shares traded. In Britain, the FTSE 100 added 0.63 percent or 41.17 points to 6,586.11. The 10-year U.S. treasury note rose 12/32 to yield 2.543 percent. Gold added $6.10 or 0.27 percent to close at $1,283.70 per troy ounce. Silver gained 13.8 cents to $19.93 per ounce. West Texas Intermediate crude oil added 41 cents trading to reach $105.96 per barrel. The euro rose to $1.3064 against the dollar. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 99.86 yen. On the Chicago Board of Trade, December corn shed 5 1/4 cents to $5.04, November soybeans gained 4 3/4 cents to $12.62 and September wheat gave up 12 cents to $6.69.