Dow loses more than 200 points, Nasdaq also ends negative

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The Dow lost more than 200 points to extend its losing streak Thursday as the Nasdaq also turned negative before the final bell despite a strong opening.

The blue-chip was down 236 points, or 0.75%, to end at 31,253. The S&P 500 lost 23 points, or 0.58%, to finish at 3,900.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq gave up gains near the closing bell and fell almost 30 points, or 0.26%, to close at 11,388.

Apple and IBM saw their stock decline 2.4% each.

Although the negative sentiment of investors continue, the VIX volatility index known as the fear index was down 5.2% to 29.35.

While the dollar index fell 0.93% to 102.84, the 10-year US Treasury yield lost 1.06% to 2.853%.

Precious metals were on the rise, as gold added 1.4% to $1,841 and silver jumped 2.5% to $21.94.

Crude prices were up with global oil benchmark Brent crude trading at $111.22 for a 1.9% gain, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $108.94 -- a 1.8% increase.