US stock markets open higher after ending 5-week streak

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major indices in the US stock market opened higher on Monday, after ending their 5-week winning streak last week.

The Dow Jones was up 53 points, or 0.15%, to 36,153 at 9.45 a.m. EDT after the blue-chip index lost 0.62% the previous week.

The S&P 500 rose 5 points, or 0.11%, to 4,687. It decreased 0.31% last week.

The Nasdaq increased 17, or 0.11%, to 15,877 after the tech-heavy index fell 0.69% last week.

Despite the indices' gains, the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, was up 3.9% to 16.92. The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes rose 0.7% to 1.596%.

The US dollar index, on the other hand, was almost flat at 95.12 at the time.

Oil prices kicked off the new week on a lower note with international benchmark Brent crude falling 1.1% to $81.25 per barrel. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate declined 1.1% to $78.83 a barrel.

Precious metals were also down with gold falling 0.23% to $1,860 per ounce and silver losing 1.5% to $24.97.

The price of Bitcoin was slightly up by gaining 0.85% to $64,930 at the time.