US stocks open higher with gains in housing market

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks opened higher Tuesday with positive data from the housing market.

The Dow was up 181 points, or 0.53%, to 34,593 at 9.48 a.m. EDT. The S&P 500 added 17 points, or 0.41%, to 4,409.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 23 points, or 0.18%, to 13,355.

US housing starts rose 0.3% to more than 1.79 million in March, from the previous month, according to a report by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Building permits increased 0.4% on a monthly basis to more than 1.87 million, it added.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes rose 1.6% to 2.907%. The dollar index added 0.11% to 100.89.

The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, was down 0.63% to 22.03.

Precious metals were down as well, with gold losing 0.64% to $1,966 and silver shedding 1.5% to $25.49.

Crude oil prices plummeted more than 3%.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $109.22, down 3.5%, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $103.75 per barrel -- a 3.6% decline.