US stocks mixed, trying to recover from record high inflation

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major US indices opened mixed on Thursday, trying to recover from previous losses after annual consumer inflation climbed to its highest level in 31 years.

The Dow Jones was down 47 points, or 0.13%, to 36,032 points at 9.57 a.m. EDT (1457GMT). The blue-chip index fell 0.66% on Wednesday.

The S&P 500, however, rose 15 points, or 0.32%, to 4,661, after falling 0.82% in the previous session.

The Nasdaq added 132, or 0.85%, to 15,755. The tech-heavy index plummeted 1.66% the day before.

The steep decline during the previous session came after US Labor Department figures showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.2% in October -- the largest 12-month increase since November 1990. Core CPI jumped 4.6% year-on-year, its largest 12-month rise since August 1991.

Amid worries of high inflation, the VIX volatility index climbed to 18.73, but the fear index was down 5.3% to 17.73 at the time.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes rose 0.76% to 1.570%, while the US dollar index increased an additional 0.2% to 95.02.

Oil prices were up yet again with international benchmark Brent crude trading at $83.33 per barrel -- a 0.8% gain. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose 0.9% to $82.10.

Investors have continued rushing to precious metals to protect themselves from high inflation. Gold rose an additional 0.63% to $1,861 per ounce and silver increased 2.2% to $25.18.

After climbing to an all-time high of $69.000 on Wednesday, Bitcoin was down 4.9% to $65,050 at the time.