US stocks down as Dow, S&P struggle to rebound from 2-week losses

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) – US stocks were down on Monday's opening as the Dow and the S&P struggle to rebound from their two straight weeks of losses.

The blue-chip Dow Jones lost 6 points, or 0.02%, to start at 32,914 points at 9.50 a.m. EDT (1450GMT). The S&P 500 shed 12 points, or 0.33%, to open at 3,840.

The Nasdaq was off 90 points, or 0.84%, to 10,615 at the time.

The indexes closed lower on Friday with worries that the Federal Reserve's rate hikes could cause a recession in the US economy.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 0.3% to 22.55. The 10-year US Treasury yield increased 2.8% to 3.579%.

The dollar index fell 0.05% to 104.65, while the euro rose 0.2% to $1.0602 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the decline. The price of gold fell 0.1% to $1,791 per ounce and silver lost 0.7% to $23.05.

Crude oil prices gained more than 1%. Global benchmark Brent crude was trading at $80.25 per barrel for an increase of 1.5%. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was around $75.73 – up 1.7%.