Retail sales picked up in July, boosted by auto purchases, gasoline sales and a jump in purchases of electronics, CNNMoney reported.

Total retail sales last month rose 0.5 percent, according to a report issued today by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The U.S. stock market opened higher on the final day of a historically wild week, then got an extra boost from the retail sales report from the U.S. Commerce Department.

The retail gain was exactly what economists expected, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com, and showed improvement from a 0.1 percent gain in June.

Sales excluding autos and auto parts were up a better-than-expected 0.5 percent in July, helped by a 1.6 percent rise in sales at gasoline stations and a 1.4 percent gain in gadget purchases fueled by back-to-school shopping that took place in the month.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast sales excluding auto purchases would be up 0.2 percent. Sales excluding auto purchases were unchanged in the prior month.