Yellen doubts Trump's target

US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Trump's target would be "quite challenging". Photo / AP

Wall Street moved higher as investors positioned themselves for a fresh round of quarterly corporate earnings.

On Friday, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are among US companies set to report their latest quarterly results.

Second-quarter earnings are expected to rise 7.8 per cent from a year ago, after first-quarter earnings posted their best performance since 2011, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, testifying before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, warned that achieving a 3 per cent annual growth rate for the US economy over the next few years-a goal set by President Donald Trump-would be "quite challenging."

"It's something that would be wonderful if you can accomplish it-I'd love to see it," Yellen said in response to a question, according to Bloomberg. "It would be quite challenging."

In the latest economic data, a Labour Department report showed producer prices posted a surprise gain in June, rising 0.1 per cent from the previous month.

A separate Labour Department report showed that initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 247,000 for the week ended July 8.

"It remains hard for companies to hire skilled workers. Inflation isn't slip-sliding away from the Fed's goal," Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York, told Reuters. "We expect they are on track to announce the start of the balance sheet unwind in September and go for the last of three rate hikes planned for this year in December."

In 3.08pm trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2 per cent. In 2.53pm trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index increased 0.2 per cent.

US Treasuries declined, pushing yields on the 10-year note three basis points higher to 2.35 per cent.

The Dow rose as gains in shares of Wal-Mart Stores and those of Apple, recently up 1.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively, outweighed declines in shares of McDonald's and those of DuPont, recently 0.9 per cent and 0.8 per cent weaker respectively.

Shares of Target climbed, up 4.4 per cent as of 3.22pm in New York, after the retailer upgraded its second-quarter sales outlook.

"As a result of improved traffic and sales trends through the first two months of the quarter, Target is now expecting to report a modest increase in its second quarter comparable sales," the company said in a statement.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index finished the session with a 0.3 per cent advance from the previous close. Germany's DAX Index rose 0.1 per cent, and France's CAC40 Index climbed 0.3 per cent.

The UK's FTSE 100 Index slipped 0.1 per cent, with shares of AstraZeneca posting the largest percentage decline at 3.5 per cent.