US stock market opens lower except Dow Jones

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major indexes in the US stock market opened lower on Thursday, except the Dow Jones, despite retail sales rising strongly in August.

The Dow was up 25 points, or 0.07%, to 34,839 at 9.45 a.m. EDT with JPMorgan adding 0.9%. The blue-chip index later fell to negative territory.

While the S&P 500 decreased 12 points, or 0.27%, to 4,468, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 66 points, or 0.44%, to 15,095.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, jumped 4.6% to 19.02, indicating once again a highly volatile session.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes rose 3.5% to 1.350%, while the dollar index added 0.4% to 92.93.

Oil prices reversed course from their strong increase in recent days. Brent crude was down 0.9% to $74.78 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate declined 0.9% to $71.95.

Precious metals showed massive losses with gold falling 2.5% $1,748 per ounce, and silver plummeting 5% to $22.66.