US stocks mixed to kick off new week

ISTANBUL

US stock exchanges Monday kicked off the new week mixed, as investors focus on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 40 points, or 0.1%, to 38,839 at 10.10 a.m. EDT (1410GMT). The blue-chip index saw a 0.6% increase last week.

The S&P 500, on the other hand, fell nearly six points, or 0.11%, to 5,341 after the index posted last week a gain of 1.1%.

The Nasdaq declined 39 points, or 0.23%, to 17,094. Last week, the tech-heavy index rose 1.7%.

The Fed is widely expected to keep its federal funds rate unchanged in the 5.25%-5.5% target range on Wednesday, while investors will focus on chair Jerome Powell's comments in the post-meeting press conference.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 6.6% to 13.03. The 10-year US Treasury yield added 0.68% to 4.460%.

The dollar index increased 0.44% to 105.35, while the euro shed 0.58% to $1.0737 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the rise, with gold adding 0.5% to $2,304 and silver increasing 1.2% to $29.52.

Oil prices were up around 0.9%, with global benchmark Brent crude at $80.29 and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $76.25 per barrel.