US market lower at opening as stocks extend losses

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks were down at the opening bell Tuesday as the Dow and the S&P 500 extended losses to two straight weeks.

The blue-chip Dow lost 50 points, or 0.15%, to begin at 32,698 points at 9.44 a.m. EDT. The S&P 500 shed 15 points, or 0.4%, to 3,802.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was off 88 points, or 0.84%, to 10,457 at the time.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 0.9% to 22.63. The 10-year US Treasury yield increased 3.1% to 3.694%.

The dollar index fell 0.5% to 104.19, while the euro rose 0.1% to $1.0616 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the rise with the price of gold adding 1.1% to $1,808 per ounce and silver jumping 3.5% to $23.79.

Crude oil prices gained more than 0.5%. Global benchmark Brent crude was trading at $80.26 per barrel for an increase of 0.6%. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was around $76.05 -- up 0.9%.