US stocks open lower, giving up post-Fed gains with recession fears

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major indices on the US stock market opened lower on Thursday, giving up all gains after the Federal Reserve's key meeting, as the central bank's aggressive monetary tightening continues to fuel up recession fears.

The Dow was down 650 points, or 2.1%, to 30,018 points at 9.40 a.m. EDT (1340GMT), after the blue-chip index rose 1% on the previous session.

The S&P 500 declined 102, or 2.7%, to 3,687 at the time, despite rising 1.46% on Wednesday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq plummeted 330 points, or 3%, to 10,765. The tech-heavy index soared 2.5% on the previous day.

The Fed on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points, marking its biggest rate hike in 28 years.

Chair Jerome Powell admitted that the rate hike is "an unusually large one" but he did not rule out another 75-basis-point increase in the July meeting.

Although the Fed has revealed its monetary road map for the coming meetings, providing some certainty for the markets, investors are still worried that the central bank's aggressive tightening could cause recession in American economy.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, was up 6.4% to 31.53.

The dollar index fell 0.55% to 104.58 and the 10-year US Treasury yield rose 0.8% to 3.421%.

Precious metals were down, with gold falling 0.2% to $1,830 and silver losing 0.6% to $21.55.

Crude prices were down 2%. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $116.13 for a 2% loss, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $113 -- a 2% decrease.