US stock markets open Wednesday mixed

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) – US stock markets opened mixed on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones was up 87 points, or 0.28%, to start the third trading day of the week at 31,919 at 9.41 a.m. EDT (1341GMT).

The S&P 500 fell 20 points, or 0.5%, to 3,836, while the Nasdaq plummeted 200 points, or 1.9%, to 10,994.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, dropped 1.5% to 28.02. The 10-year US Treasury yield fell 2.2% to 4.021%.

The dollar index fell 0.5% to 110.34, but was still around its highest in 20 years, while the euro gained 0.5% to $1.0018 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the rise, with gold up 0.7% to $1,664 and silver rising 1.1% to $19.55.

Oil prices also climbed more than 1%. Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 1.2% to $92.81 per barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was around $86.75, up 1.7%.