(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 15 lug - US shares were trading higher at midday after data confirmed easing inflationary pressures.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, US producer prices fell 0.3% month on month and 5.5% on the year in June, compared to expectations for the index to remain unchanged and a 6.2% rise on the year. The core PPI index rose 0.2% on the month and 4.7% on the year, below expectations for a rise to 0.3% and 5.2%.

The reading comes after yesterday's softer-than-expected consumer price report and strengthened hopes that the Federal Reserve may not raise rates as aggressively this year.

Speaking at an event in New York, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York John Williams said 'inflation has peaked and should edge down in coming quarters.' Markets meanwhile kept an eye on corporate earnings and tensions in the Middle East after the US launched more attacks against Iran.

On the stocks front, BlackRock jumped 7.27% after better-than-expected results while shares in PayPal surged 17.09% amid reports of a 53 billion dollar takeover bid from digital payments firm Stripe and private equity company Advent.

At 1518 GMT, the Dow Jones was up 1185.48 points, or 0.35%, at 52,693.75 points.

The S&P 500 was 13.03 points, or 0.17%, higher at 7,556.62 points.

The Nasdaq was gaining 63.04 points, or 0.24%, at 26,170.67.

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(RADIOCOR) 15-07-26 17:27:25 (0551) 5 NNNN