US stocks open higher as SVB buyout deal calms banking worries

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stock market opened higher Monday to start the new week with gains, as a buyout deal of the demised Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) calmed investors' worries about banking sector.

The Dow Jones rose 244 points, or 0.76%, to 32,482 at 9.41 a.m. EDT. The blue-chip index increased 0.4% last week.

The S&P 500 added 26 points, or 0.67% to 3,997 after it marked last week a gain of 1.4%.

The Nasdaq increased 47 points, or 0.4%, to 11,870. The tech-heavy index marked a 1.6% gain for the week.

The US' Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced earlier that First Citizens Bank agreed to buy SVB's deposits and loans, approximately $72 billion of the failed bank's assets at a discount of $16.5 billion.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 3.1% to 21.07, while the 10-year US Treasury yield rose 3.4% to 3.492%.

The dollar index lost 0.13% to 102.98, while the euro added 0.3% to $1.0788 against the greenback.

Precious metals were in negative territory, with gold falling 1.6% to $1,947 per ounce and silver trimming 1.4% to $22.91.

Crude oil prices were up almost 2% with global benchmark Brent crude at $75.85 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at $70.56.