US stocks open lower with weak financial results by banks

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks opened lower Tuesday with weak financial results at major banks.

The Dow fell 175 points, or 0.51%, to 34,127 at 9.41 a.m. EDT (1441GMT). The S&P 500 lost 5.5 points, or 0.13% to 3,993.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 25 points, or 0.23%, to 11,054 points.

US-based investment banking and financial services companies Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley saw incomes and revenues fall in the final quarter, according to financial results.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, was up 2.3% to 19.94. The 10-year US Treasury yield rose 0.6% to 3.531%.

The dollar index fell 0.24% to 101.96, while the euro rose 0.45% to $1.0865 against the greenback.

Precious metals were in negative territory, with gold falling 0.2% to $1,912 per ounce and silver decreasing 1.6% to $23.88.

Crude oil prices gained around 2%, with global benchmark Brent crude rising 2.6% to $86.67 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $81.41 -- a 1.6% daily increase.

The New York Stock Exchange was closed Monday to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.