US stocks down at closing bell

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks closed lower Tuesday with a sell-off in tech.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 280 points, or 0.80%, to close at 34,641.

The S&P 500 fell 54.6 points, or 1.19%, to end at 4,528.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was off 328.4 points, or 2.26%, to finish at 14,204.

The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, soared 13.8% to 21.13. The dollar index rose 0.49% to 99.46.

Precious metals were off with gold falling 0.68% to $1,920 per ounce and silver losing 0.81% to $24.39.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $105.09, down 2.27%, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $100.42 -- a 2.77% loss.