US stock market opens Friday lower

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US stock market opened lower on Friday.

The Dow Jones fell 8 points, or 0.02%, to open at 33,690 at 9.51 a.m. EDT (1451GMT). The S&P 500 lost 5 points, or 0.12%, to 4,076.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq decreased 71 points, or 0.6%, to begin the last trading day of the week at 11,720.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, was up 3.2% at 21.37, while the 10-year US Treasury yield rose 0.14% to 3.688%.

The dollar index added 0.2% to 103.42, while the euro shed 0.3% to $1.0702 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the rise, with gold adding 0.1% to $1,863 per ounce and silver increasing 0.7% to $22.13.

Amid reports that Russia will lower oil output, crude prices were up more than 1.4% with global benchmark Brent crude at $85.84 and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at $79.12 per barrel.

Moscow announced earlier Friday that it will voluntarily reduce its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day in March, which is equivalent to approximately 5% of its total output, pointing to the price ceiling policy, according to multiple reports.

G7 and EU member countries agreed in December on a $60 per barrel cap for Russian crude exports transported by sea, aiming to hit Moscow's revenues from oil exports and sales during Russia's war against Ukraine.