Nasdaq opens higher, Dow, S&P in decline

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The Nasdaq opened higher on Friday, but the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 kicked off the last trading day of the week with losses.

The blue-chip Dow was down 185 points, or 0.52%, at 35,686, while the S&P 500 fell 2 points to 4,701 at 9.40 a.m. EDT.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq, on the other hand, added 52 points, or 0.33%, to 16,046.

The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, was up 2.2% to 17.97. The dollar index gained 0.3% to 95.84.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes, however, fell 3.6% to 1.529%.

Price of Brent crude dove below $80 per barrel once again as the international benchmark was down 2.1% at $79.49 a barrel. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2% to $76.66.

Precious metals were up slightly, with gold adding 0.13% to $1,861 an ounce and silver rising 0.4% to $24.91.

After plunging further to $55,600 earlier, Bitcoin was trading around $57,900 for a 2% loss.