US markets end higher, recovering from previous losses

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major US stock market indexes closed higher Thursday, recovering from massive losses the previous day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 300 points or 0.1% to 30,603 points while the S&P 500 gained 36 points or 0.1%, ending at 3,787.

The Nasdaq rose 66 points or 0.5% to end at 13,337 with Netflix, Moderna and Zoom each gaining over 2% and Microsoft reaching an all-time high of $242.64.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, was significantly down by 18.8% to 30.21 after soaring 61.6% Wednesday to reach its highest level since Nov. 2.

Gold was as high as $1,866 per ounce at one point but failed to hold on to its gains and slid into negative territory. Silver remained more resilient and was around $26.50 an ounce with a 5% gain at the time of the final bell.

The price of Brent crude oil was down 0.85% at $55.06 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $52.26 a barrel with a 1.1% loss.

Stocks have been driven higher in recent days by small retail investors, who took major hits after broker app Robinhood earlier Thursday restricted its users from trading.

Shares of GameStop and BlackBerry declined by more than 40%, while AMC Entertainment shares lost 56%.