Mixed opening for US stock market

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - The U.S. stock market opened with a fall in the value of banks’ shares balanced out by a rise in oil prices.

The Dow fell 22 points to begin the day at 18,846 but the S&P 500 gained four points to open at 2,168 and the Nasdaq added 20 points to start the day at 5,238.

Banks saw their stocks drop for the first time since Nov. 9, when investors took a buying position following Donald Trump’s election victory and his promise to increase infrastructure spending.

A rise in oil prices and recovery for tech stocks paved the way for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to begin the day with gains.

At the first bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $44.72 a barrel -- a 3.4 percent increase. Brent crude rose 3.3 percent to $45.87 per barrel.