US stocks open mixed before Fed's key rate decision

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Major exchanges in the US opened mixed Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's key interest rate announcement.

The Dow Jones was down 13 points, or 0.04%, to 33,671 at 9.40 a.m. EDT. The S&P 500, on the other hand, rose six points, or 0.16%, to 4,126.

The Nasdaq increased 36 points, or 0.3%, to 12,116 at the time.

The Fed will announce its interest rate decision at 2.00 p.m. EDT, which will be followed by the Chair Jerome Powell's press conference at 2.30 p.m. EDT.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 1.5% to 18.04. Meanwhile, the 10-year US Treasury yield fell 1.4% to 3.390%.

The dollar index shed 0.4% to 101.56, while the euro gained 0.34% to $1.1037 against the greenback.

Precious metals were mixed, with the price of gold rising 0.1% to $2,018 per ounce but silver falling 0.4% to $25.28 an ounce.

Crude oil prices plummeted more than 3.3% with the global benchmark Brent crude price at $72.72 per barrel and the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude price at $69.01.