US market opens higher to finish September on high note

ANKARA

Major indexes on the US stock market opened higher on Thursday to finish the month of September and the third quarter of the year on a high note.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 36 points, or 0.1%, to 34,427 at 9.41 a.m. EDT. The S&P 500 rose 15 points, or 0.35%, to 4,374.


The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 90 points, or 0.6%, to 14,602 at the time.

The indices showed losses earlier this week as the Federal Reserve prepares tapering, the process of scaling back its $120 billion worth of monthly bond purchases, in November or latest by December.

The central bank also expects its first interest rate increase would come in late 2022, while it projects four rate hikes in 2023.

With those expectations, the US dollar index climbed earlier to as high as 94.50 – its highest level since September 2020. The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes was still above 1.5%, highest since this June.

The VIX volatility index, on the other hand, was down 3.3% to 21.82 at the time.

Precious metals were on the rise with gold adding 0.9% to $1,742 per ounce, and silver rising 1.5% $21.87.

Oil prices retreated from their three-year highs with Brent crude trading at $77 per barrel with a 1.4% decline, and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was at $73.7 – a 1.5% loss.