Dow trying to recover after US stocks open, DAX negative in Europe

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The Dow opened higher on Tuesday in the US trying to recover from the previous session’s losses, while Germany's DAX 30 turned negative.

The Dow added 7 points to 38,844 at 9.42 a.m. EDT after it plummeted 100 points on Monday. The blue-chip index was fluctuating between negative and positive in the first 15 minutes of trading.

While the S&P 500 was flat, adding only 2 points at 4,388, the Nasdaq rose 13, or 0.1%, to 14,692 with support of tech and pharma stocks.

Tesla and Twitter increased more than 1.5%. Pfizer and Moderna were up 1.2% and 2%, respectively.

PepsiCo shares added 0.3% after the US-based multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation said earlier it has agreed to sell Tropicana and other juice brands for $3.3 billion to PAI Partners, a Paris-based private equity firm.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes decreased 1.1% to 1.159, but the dollar index rose 0.1% to 92.11. The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, soared 4.2% to 20.27.

Precious metals were mixed as gold was flat at around $1,813 per ounce, but silver increased 0.4% to $25.5.

Oil prices plummeted around 2% with Brent crude trading at $71.66 per barrel with a 1.7% loss and West Texas Intermediate around $69.91, a 2.3% decline.

Investors await key data of private payrolls to be announced in the US on Wednesday, and nonfarm payrolls and unemployment figures on Friday that will provide clues amid the latest outlook of the American economy.

The weak US opening pushed European indices into negative territory.

The DAX 30 turned negative to 15,548 at 1553 GMT with a 0.1% loss after starting the day with gains. Italy's Borsa Italiana FTSE MIB 30 fell 0.1% to 25,330.

Spain's IBEX 35 was basically flat at 8,764, gaining just 0.1% while London's FTSE 100 was up 10 to 7,091.

Despite hitting all-time highs earlier, STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 European countries, was flat at 464.43, down from a record high of 466.17.

The French stock market, CAC 40, fell to 6,724, down from its record of 6,737.16.