US stocks slightly up, S&P hovers around record-high

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Major stock exchanges in the US were slightly up after Wednesday's opening bell, while the S&P 500 was hovering around its record-high level.

The index closed Tuesday above the 5,500 record-high level for the first time in history, while it was at 5,517 points at 10.08 a.m. EDT (1408GMT) with a gain of eight points, or 0.15%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 18 points, or 0.05%, to 39,350 at the time.

The Nasdaq increased 21 points, or 0.12%, to a new all-time high of 18,050.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 0.42% to 11.92. The 10-year US Treasury yield shed 1.7% to 4.358%.

The dollar index fell 0.5% to 105.22, while the euro increased 0.6% to $1.0810 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the rise, with gold increasing 1.4% to $2,362 per ounce and silver adding 3.4% to $30.52.

Oil prices were up around 0.3%, with global benchmark Brent crude at $86.49 and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $83.06.