US equities begin higher on Friday, snapping a two-year losing run

Prices for oil rise by more than 1.4%.

One day after their biggest winning streak in two years came to an end, US stock exchanges began higher on Friday.

At 9.43 a.m. EDT, the S&P 500 was up 18 points, or 0.42%, to 4,365 points, following its eight-day losing run on Thursday’s closing.

To 13,613, the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 92 points, or 0.69%. The tech-heavy index ended nine days of rises in a row during the last session.

In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 126 points, or 0.37%, to 34,017 at that point.

The fear index, or VIX volatility index, decreased by 3% to 14.82. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury fell by 0.9% to 4.589%.

The euro strengthened 0.15% to $1.0682 against the US dollar, while the dollar index remained stable at 105.89.

Silver dropped 1.2% to $22.35, and gold lost 0.7% to $1,944 an ounce. Precious metals were in negative territory.

With US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at $76.79 and worldwide benchmark Brent crude at $81.14 per barrel, oil prices rose by more than 1.4%.