Dow Jones higher as Yellen downplays inflation again

The Dow Jones opened higher on Monday as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen downplayed inflation fear again.

The index was up 116 points, or 0.3%, to 32,894 points with investment banking firms Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan rising 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively, at 9.40 a.m. EDT (1340 GMT).

The S&P 500 was flat at 3,942 points with Tesla losing 1.1%, while the Nasdaq was down 16 points, or 1.2%, to 13,304 points.

Despite its two months of rally, the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes was down Monday 1.3% to 1.614% level. VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, was up again by 3.9% to 21.5.

When asked about the rising yield on 10-Year Treasury notes and fear of inflation among investors, Yellen said: "I think there's a small risk. And I think it's manageable ... I don't think it's a significant risk. And if it materializes, we will certainly monitor for it. But we have tools to address it," Yellen told ABC on Sunday.

This is the second time Yellen tried to calm market and investors' fear of rising inflation in the world's largest economy after she said on March 8 that worries amid the relief bill triggering a rapid increase in inflation are "misplaced."

Yellen also reiterated her support for President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion bill that was signed into law last week.

"There's enough support in this package to relieve suffering and to get the economy quickly back on track... we can have the economy back near full employment next year," she told ABC.