By Ovunc Kutlu
ANKARA (AA) - US stocks opened higher on Friday with the Dow Jones closing on a record high level after retail sales in June shattered expectations.
The Dow was up 30 points, or 0.1%, to 35,018 at 9.45 a.m. EDT (1345GMT). The blue-chip index saw 35,090 points shortly after opening bell -- just one point below of its all-time high.
The S&P 500 added 7 points, or 0.2%, to 4,367 at the time, while the Nasdaq was at 14,579 with a 34 point, or 0.2%, increase.
The dollar index was almost flat at 92.65, while the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, plummeted 3.7% 16.38.
The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes, on the other hand, increased 2.1% to 1.324%.
While gold was down 0.3% at $1,824 per ounce, silver declined 1.1% to $26.
The optimism in US indexes came after retail sales increased 0.6% in June, beating analysts expectation of a 0.4% decline on a monthly basis.