US stocks open lower before debt limit discussions, inflation figures

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks opened lower before a debt limit meeting at the White House later Tuesday and one day before the release of key inflation figures.

The blue-chip Dow Jones fell 73 points, or 0.22%, to 33,544 at 9.37 a.m. EDT. The S&P 500 was off 20 points, or 0.49%, to 4,117.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 67 points, or 0.55%, to 12,186 at the time.

President Joe Biden will meet House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at 4 p.m. EDT to try to reach an agreement with Congress on the rapidly approaching deadline.

Biden warned on Friday that failure to increase the debt limit to prevent a default would have "a catastrophic impact" on the US economy, adding that it should be raised without any conditions attached to it by Republicans.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress on Sunday that failing to raise the nation's debt limit, which could lead to a default on its debt, would cause "calamity" for the world's biggest economy.

VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, jumped 4.8% to 17.79. The 10-year US Treasury yield, meanwhile, fell 0.1% to 3.515%.

The dollar index was up 0.4% to 101.79, while the euro decreased 0.44% to $1.0956 against the greenback.

Precious metals were mixed, with gold adding 0.3% to $2,028 per ounce but silver trimming 0.1% to $25.50.

Oil prices fell around 0.5% with the global benchmark Brent crude price at $76.61 per barrel and the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $72.81.

The key consumer inflation figure for April will be released Wednesday before market opening at 8.30 a.m. EDT.

While consumer inflation rose 9.1% annually in June, the largest 12-month increase since November 1981, the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening and rapid interest rate increases substantially slowed down the figure to a 5% annual gain in March.