US stock market opens Monday lower

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Major stock exchanges in the US opened Monday with losses.

The Dow Jones fell 148 points, or 0.38%, to 38,506 at 9.43 a.m. EDT (1443GMT). The blue-chip index gained 1.5% last week.

The S&P 500 lost 11 points, or 0.22%, to 4,948 after posting last week an increase of 1.4%.

The Nasdaq, meanwhile, decreased 39 points, or 0.25%, to 1,559 after a weekly gain of 1.7%.

Last week, all three exchanges posted their fourth consecutive weekly gains.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 1.1% to 13.99, while the 10-year US Treasury yield rose 2.1% to 4.117%.

The dollar index increased 0.48% to 104.41, while the euro lost 0.4% to $1.0741 against the greenback.

Precious metals were in the red, with gold trimming 0.9% to $2,022 per ounce and silver decreasing 1.3% to $22.39.

Oil prices were also in negative territory, with global benchmark Brent crude losing 0.8% to $76.68 per barrel, and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude decreasing 1.2% to $71.42 a barrel.