US stocks open Wednesday mixed before Fed minutes

ISTANBUL

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.