US stocks close higher with new records, 2 indexes post weekly gains

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks closed higher Friday while two reached new records and posted weekly gains.

The Dow Jones ended the day at 35,515 points with a 0.35% gain, but hit a record high of 35,610.57 at the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange.

The S&P 500 closed at 4,468 with a 0.16% increase after climbing to an all-time high of 4,468.37 at the first bell.

The Nasdaq finished at 14,822 points with less than a 0.1% increase. The tech-heavy index, however, declined 0.08% for the week.

On a weekly basis, the blue-chip Dow was up 0.87% and the S&P 500 gained 0.7%, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency.

The positivity in the markets caused the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, to slide 1% to 15.43.

The dollar index also fell 0.6% to 92.51, while the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes plummeted 6.1% to 1.283%.

Precious metals continued to be volatile but showed a strong recovery. Gold jumped 1.5% to $1,779 per ounce and silver soared 2.3% to $23.73.

Oil prices extended their losses with Brent crude losing 1.6% to $70.20 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate stood at $68.23 – a 1.5% loss.