US stocks higher as Fed delays start of tapering

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The US stock market opened higher Thursday after the Federal Reserve opened the door for tapering but delayed its formal start.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 301 points, or 0.88%, to 34,559 at 9.37 a.m. EDT with investment banking firms JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley all rising more than 1% apiece.

The S&P 500 added 30 points, or 0.7%, to 4,426 and the Nasdaq jumped 68 points, or 0.46%, to 14,965 with BlackBerry soaring 11%.

The Fed said Wednesday that moderation in the pace of asset purchases may soon be warranted, indicating tapering would soon begin.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell later told a news conference that the bank may conclude tapering -- the process of scaling back its $120 billion worth of monthly bond purchases -- by the middle of 2022.

Tapering could begin in November or December but its delay provided relief for investors.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, plummeted another 8.6% to dive below the critical level of 20 as it sits at 19.07. The dollar index was down 0.36% to 93.12.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes, on the other hand, gained 2.6% to 1.365%.

Precious metals reversed course as gold fell 0.9% to $1,752 per ounce and silver lost 0.2% $22.64.

Oil prices rose around 0.4% with Brent crude trading at $76.46 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at $72.55.