US stocks open higher as producer inflation softens

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks opened higher Thursday as annual producer inflation eased in July.

The Dow Jones jumped 200 points, or 0.6%, to open the day at 33,509 at 9.35 a.m. EDT (1335GMT).

The S&P 500 rose 22 points, or 0.53%, to 4,233. The tech-heavy Nasdaq soared 70 points, or 0.54%, to 12,925.

The stock price of Walt Disney Company jumped 8.9% after number of subscribers of its streaming service, Disney+, surpassed Netflix for the first time.

Annually producer inflation rose 9.8% in July, slowing from an 11.3% gain in June, according to Department of Labor figures. On a monthly basis, producer prices fell 0.5% last month.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 1% to 19.93. The 10-year US Treasury yield was down 0.3% to 2.772%.

While the dollar index fell 0.36% to 104.82, the euro rose 0.45% to $1.0343 against the dollar.

Precious metals were mixed, with gold adding 0.2% to $1,795 and silver falling 0.6% to $20.47.

Oil prices were up around 1%. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was at $98.68 per barrel for a 1.3% gain, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $93.39 -- a 1.6% increase.