The US Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen, has referred to stretched valuations for smaller stocks in social media and biotechnology sectors. Yellen also noted that the economy still needs support: "Although the economy continues to improve, the recovery is not yet complete." Yellen continued to highlight the considerable slack in the job market.
In US economic data, retail sales rose by 0.2 per cent in June, short of forecasts for a 0.6 per cent gain while sales excluding autos rose by 0.4 per cent. Import prices rose 0.1 per cent in June but export prices fell by 0.4 per cent.
