US stocks mixed despite volatility hitting lowest level in year

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major indexes in the US stock market opened mixed on Tuesday despite the volatility index hitting its lowest level in a year.

The Dow Jones was down 86 to 34,543 at 9.59 a.m. EDT (1359GMT). The S&P 500 was flat at 4,222 -- losing 4 points. The Nasdaq, on the other hand, added 30 to 13,912.

The VIX volatility index fell to 15.15, its lowest level in a year, half an hour before the opening bell. The fear index, however, climbed to 17 with a 3.6% daily gain at the time. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note was down 2.2% to 15.35%.

The dollar index, which shows the strength of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.2% to 90.10.

Precious metals were down as gold retreated 0.1% to $1,896 per ounce, and silver lost 0.5% to $27.7.

Bitcoin plummeted 11% to $32,200 after former US President Donald Trump called it a "scam" against the dollar. After climbing to an all-time high of $64,000 in April, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap has since lost half of its value.