US Stocks Down At Midweek Opening

US stocks began the middle of the week in the red before the Wednesday release of the Fed Open Market Committee minutes.

The Dow was at 31,802 points, down 126 from its previous close.

The S&P 500 lost 10.1 to 3,931 and the Nasdaq fell 32.4 points to 11,239.

The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, soared 1.49% to 28.89 at GMT1401. The dollar index dropped 0.4% to 102.2.

Precious metal prices were also down. Gold fell 1% to $1,846.80 and silver lost 0.72% to $21.91 as of GMT1426.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $111.6, up 0.82% at 1350GMT. West Texas Intermediate rose 0.71% to $110.5. -