US stocks down at opening after 3-week losing streak

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks dove into negative territory at the opening on Tuesday, failing to rebound from a three-week losing streak led by the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy tightening.

The Fed officials have recently signaled more rate hikes in coming weeks to tame record-high inflation, which spooked investors and hurt the outlook of the American economy that now faces recession.

After plummeting for weeks, the Dow Jones was down 41 points, or 0.13%, to 31,276 at 9.50 am EDT. The S&P 500 fell 4 points, or 0.11%, to 3,919.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq decreased 28 points, or 0.25%, to 11,601.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 2.6% to 26.66. The 10-year US Treasury yield rose 3.6% to 3.307%.

While the dollar index increased 0.4% to 110.26, the euro was down 0.3% to $0.9895 against the dollar.

Precious metals were mixed, with gold declining 0.1% to $1,709 and silver rising 0.2% to $18.2.

Oil prices were also mixed. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $93.30 a barrel for a 2.6% loss, but the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was around $87.06 -- a 0.2% increase.

The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq were both closed on Monday due to observance of the Labor Day.