US stock markets open Monday flat

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) – Major US stock market exchanges opened flat on Monday.

The blue-chip Dow Jones was up less than 10 points, or 0.2%, to 33,818 at 9.36 a.m. EDT (1336GMT). The S&P 500 rose just one point to open flat at 4,134.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq, on the other hand, was down one point, or 0.3%, to 12,070 at the time.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, jumped 3.4% to 17.34. Meanwhile, the 10-year US Treasury yield fell 1% to 3.536%.

The dollar index lost 0.23% to fall to 101.58, while the euro rose 0.26% to reach $1.1016 against the greenback.

Precious metals were in negative territory, with the price of gold dropping 0.25% to $1,978 per ounce and silver losing 0.6% to $24.93 an ounce.

Oil prices fell around 0.3%, with the price of global benchmark Brent crude at $81.19 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude sitting at $77.64.