US stock market closes lower as Fed meeting looms

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major indices in the US stock market closed lower on Monday, as the Federal Reserve's key two-day meeting looms.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 320 points, or 0.89%, to finish at 35,650. The S&P 500 lost 43 points, or 0.91%, to 4,668.

The Nasdaq plummeted 217 points, or 1.39%, to close at 15,413.

The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, was on the rise by adding 9.3% to 20.43.

The dollar index added 0.27% to 96.36, but the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes fell 4.5% to 1.422%.

Precious metals were up, with gold adding 0.2% to $1,787 per ounce and silver rising 0.7% to $22.32.

Crude prices decreased around 0.8% with Brent crude trading at $74.41 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at $71.03.

The Fed is highly anticipated to signal at least one rate hike for 2022 and increase the pace of tapering, the process known as reducing its asset purchases, at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Wednesday.