US stocks open Thursday with major gains

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stock exchanges opened Thursday with major gains.

The Dow Jones was up 303 points, or 0.79%, to 38,920 at 9.49 a.m. EDT (1449GMT). The S&P 500 jumped 79 points, or 1.6%, to 5,060.

The Nasdaq soared 402 points, or 2.6% to 15,993 at the time.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, plummeted 6.9% to 14.28. The 10-year US Treasury yield lost 0.7% to 4.295%.

The dollar index rose 0.06% to 104.06, while the euro was unchanged at $1.0818 against the greenback.

Precious metals were mixed, with gold falling 0.1% to $2,024 per ounce but silver increasing 0.1% to $22.90.

Oil prices showed small gains, with global benchmark Brent crude adding 0.15% to $83.15 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rising 0.3% to $78.12.