US stocks end higher as volatility lowest in over year

ANKARA

Major US stock market indexes closed higher Monday as volatility fell to its lowest level in over a year and Treasury yields are on the decline.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 103 points, or 0.3%, at 32,731 with Intel, Apple and Microsoft all gaining close to 3% each.

The S&P 500 added 27 points, or 0.7%, to 3,940 and the Nasdaq climbed 162 points, or 1.2%, to 13,377 with Tesla and Netflix rising 2% each.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 9.9% to as low as 18.87 during the session, its lowest level since Feb. 3, 2020, which increased investors' risk appetite.

The market optimism was coupled with yields on 10-Year US Treasury notes falling 2.6% to 1.688% – a sharp decline from above 1.7% seen Friday after almost two months of nonstop increases.

While the dollar index posted a small decline to $91.79 at the time of final bell, precious metals were down again with gold trading at $1,738 per ounce, down 0.3%, and silver falling 1.8% to $25.7 an ounce.

After failing to find support above the critical $60,000 resistance level in recent days, Bitcoin was down 2.8% to $55,900.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday central bank potential digital currencies, also known as CBDSs, must coexist with cash.

While he noted that the coronavirus pandemic has shown the limits on current payment methods, he stressed that multiple stakeholders need to collaborate in order to form an improved payment system.