US stocks down 1% with high volatility

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major indices in the US stock exchanges were down 1% at the opening Friday with high volatility in the markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 375 points, or 1.04%, to 35,524 at 9.40 a.m. EDT. The S&P 500 was down 48, or 1.02%, to 4,620.

The Nasdaq plummeted 180 points, or 1.2%, to 14,997.

The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, jumped 10% to 22.61.

The dollar index was slightly up 0.12% to 96.16, while the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes declined 2.6% to 1.385%.

Precious metals were on the rise with gold adding 0.5% to $1,808 per ounce and silver increasing 0.4% to $22.59.

Crude prices were down around 1.7%, with Brent crude trading at $73.76 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at $71.17.