US stocks close lower as exchanges post weekly losses

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks closed lower on Friday as major stock exchanges posted weekly losses.

The Dow Jones was down 475 points, or 1.24%, to finish the day at 37,983. The blue-chip index fell 1.6% this week.

The S&P 500 lost 75 points, or 1.46%, to end the session at 5,123, posting its worst daily performance since January. This week, the index shed 2.7%.

The Nasdaq plummeted 267 points, or 1.62%, to end the day at 16,175. The tech-heavy index lost 0.5% for the week.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, soared 16.3% to 17.34. The 10-year US Treasury yield fell 1.2% to 4.523%.

The US dollar index climbed 0.72% to 106.04, while the euro declined 0.8% to $1.0638 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the decline, with gold losing 1.3% to $2,342 per ounce and silver down 1.6% to $27.99.

Oil prices rose around 0.6% with global benchmark Brent crude at $90.25 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas intermediate at $85.53.