US stocks open Wednesday mixed before Fed minutes

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stock exchanges opened Wednesday mixed before the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes from its latest meeting.

The Dow Jones rose 113 points, or 0.33%, to 35,060 at 10.14 am EDT. The S&P 500 was up six points, or 0.14%, to 4,444.

The Nasdaq, on the other hand, decreased eight points, or 0.06%, to 13,623 at the time.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, lost 2.5% to 16.04. The 10-year US Treasury yield, meanwhile, fell 0.4% to 4.206%.

The dollar index shed 0.1% to 103.09, while the euro rose 0.2% to $1.0922 against the greenback.

Precious metals were in positive territory, with gold adding 0.15% to $1,904 per ounce and silver increasing 0.5% to $22.64.

Oil prices were down around 0.2%, with global benchmark Brent crude at $84.75 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $80.77.

The Fed minutes from its last 2-day meeting that concluded on July 26 will be released at 2:00 p.m. EDT. The minutes will provide hints whether the Fed officials want to continue quantitative tightening or put a break on rate hikes.

The bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points that day, raising the target range for the federal funds rate between 5.25% and 5.5% – the highest in more than 22 years.