US stocks close lower day before key inflation figure

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks closed Tuesday in negative territory one day before key consumer inflation figures are released.

The Dow was down 192 points, or 0.62% to end at 30,981. The S&P 500 fell 35 points, or 0.92%, to 3,818.

The Nasdaq was off 107 points, or 0.95%, to finish at 11,264.

Investors await inflation figures that will be released before markets open Wednesday.

Analysts expect it to show an increase of 8.8% in June, up from an annual gain of 8.6% in May.

If the figure is higher, the US Federal Reserve will be forced to make more aggressive moves in its monetary policy that could lower liquidity in markets.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 4.3% to 27.30.

The 10-year US Treasury yield fell 1% to 2.961%.

The dollar index rose to 108.17 for a 0.14% gain after soaring to 108.56 during the session to a 20-year high.

The euro fell to as low as $1 at 5.45 a.m. EDT, its lowest since December 2002. The parity was around $1.0034 at the final bell.

Precious metals were on the decline with gold losing 0.51% to $1,725 and silver decreasing 1% to $18.92.

After plummeting more than 8% last Tuesday, crude prices again posted massive losses.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $199.14 per barrel for a 7.4% loss, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $95.69 -- down 8.1%.