US stocks open higher as consumer inflation slows down

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks opened higher on Wednesday as consumer inflation in April slowed down both on annual and monthly basis.

The Dow Jones was up 224 points, or 0.57%, to 39,782 at 9.43 a.m. EDT (1343GMT). The S&P 500 rose by 30 points, or 0.57%, to 5,275.

The Nasdaq, meanwhile, increased 91 points, or 0.55%, to 16,602 at the time.

Consumer inflation in the US annually rose 3.4% in April, and monthly increased 0.3%, as both figures slowed down from March gains of 3.5% and 0.4%, respectively, according to the Labor Department figures released earlier.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 2.4% to 13.19. The 10-year US Treasury yield lost 1.48% to 4.380%.

The dollar index shed 0.32% to 104.67, while the euro added 0.18% to $1.0839 against the greenback.

Precious metals were in the red, with gold losing 0.2% to $2,353 per ounce and silver decreasing 0.22% to $28.56.

Oil prices were down around 1.5% with global benchmark Brent crude at $81.18 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at $76.82.