US stocks open higher, heading for best month since late 2020

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stock market opened higher Friday to kick off the last trading day of the month of July as investors shake off recession worries.

The blue-chip Dow was up 25 points, or 0.08% to 32,555 at 9.49 a.m. EDT. The S&P 500 rose 28 points, or 0.7%, to 4,100.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 123 points, or 0.1%, to 12,290.

While the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have gained around 2.8% apiece so far this month, they were both heading for their best monthly performance since November 2020.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 3.1% to 21.63.

The 10-year US Treasury yield increased 0.3% to 2.688%.

The dollar index was up 0.2% 106.58. The euro was down 0.4% to $1.0154 against the dollar.

Precious metals were slightly down with gold falling 0.1% to $1,754 and silver losing 0.2% to $19.97.

Oil prices increased more than 3%.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was at $104.97 per barrel for a 3.1% gain, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $99.69 -- up 3.4%.