Dow Jones up 0.4% as US markets post weekly gains

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The Dow Jones rose more than 0.4% on Friday while US stock exchanges posted weekly gains before Thanksgiving weekend.

The blue-chip Dow increased 152 points, or 0.45%, to finish at 34,347.

The S&P 500, on the other hand, was almost flat at 4,026 with a point loss.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 59 points, or 0.52%, to close at 11,226.

Despite thin daily trading and markets closing early due to the holiday weekend, all indexes posted gains for the week. The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq were closed on Thursday due to Thanksgiving Day.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 0.4% to 20.50. The 10-year US Treasury yield lost 0.35% to 3.696%.

The dollar index gained 0.2% to 106.04, still around its highest in 20 years, while the euro lost 0.1% to $1.0402 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the decline as gold lost 0.01% to $1,755 per ounce and silver fell 0.3% to $21.46.

Oil prices gave up earlier gains and dove into negative territory. Global benchmark Brent crude was trading at $83.66 per barrel for a loss of 2%. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was around $76.33, down 2.1%.