US stocks open higher ahead of key inflation figure

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major indices in the US stock market opened higher on Monday, a day before the release of a key inflation figure.

The Dow Jones was up 136 points, or 0.42%, to reach 32,288 at 9.39 am EDT. The S&P 500 rose 23 points, or 0.58%, to 4,090.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 73 points, or 0.6%, to 12,186.

Consumer inflation for August will be released before market opening on Tuesday. Annual consumer prices jumped 8.5% in July, while the market estimates an 8.1% increase in August year-on-year.

Even if the key inflation figure comes better than expected, the US Federal Reserve is widely anticipated to make a 75 basis points of interest rate increase next week to bring inflation down to its 2% goal in the long-run.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 2.9% to 23.45 shortly after market opening on Monday. The 10-year US Treasury yield, meanwhile, fell 1.2% to 3.281%.

While the dollar index decreased 0.6% to 108.33, the euro was up 0.7% to $1.0114 against the dollar.

Precious metals were on the rise, with gold adding 0.4% to $1,725 and silver soaring 4% to $19.61.

Oil prices were up around 1.5%. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $94.25 a barrel, and the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was around $88.10 per barrel.