US stocks mixed to kick off new week

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stock exchanges Monday kicked off the new week mixed, as investors focus on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 40 points, or 0.1%, to 38,839 at 10.10 a.m. EDT (1410GMT). The blue-chip index saw a 0.6% increase last week.

The S&P 500, on the other hand, fell nearly six points, or 0.11%, to 5,341 after the index posted last week a gain of 1.1%.

The Nasdaq declined 39 points, or 0.23%, to 17,094. Last week, the tech-heavy index rose 1.7%.

The Fed is widely expected to keep its federal funds rate unchanged in the 5.25%-5.5% target range on Wednesday, while investors will focus on chair Jerome Powell's comments in the post-meeting press conference.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 6.6% to 13.03. The 10-year US Treasury yield added 0.68% to 4.460%.

The dollar index increased 0.44% to 105.35, while the euro shed 0.58% to $1.0737 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the rise, with gold adding 0.5% to $2,304 and silver increasing 1.2% to $29.52.

Oil prices were up around 0.9%, with global benchmark Brent crude at $80.29 and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $76.25 per barrel.