US stock market ends strong after mixed opening

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major indexes in the US stock market closed strong on Wednesday despite mixed opening with high volatility.

The blue-chip Dow soared 236 points, or 0.68%, to 34,814, while the S&P 500 increased 37 points, or 0.85%, to 4,480.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 123 points, or 0.82%, to 15,161.

Despite earlier gains, VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 6.7% to 18.16. The dollar index was down 0.16% to 92.48.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes, on the other hand, was up 1.5% to 1.299%.

Oil prices continued their increase with strong gains as Brent crude added 2.5% to $75.46 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate rose 3.1% to $72.64.

Precious metals reversed course from gains in previous session. While gold fell 0.6% $1,793 per ounce, and silver declined 0.1% to $23.83.