Wall Street starts week on firm footing

• CBOE Volatility Index drops to lowest level since early March.
• Energy shares turn south amid slumping crude oil prices. 
• S&P 500 Financials Index gains more than 1% on rising T-bond yields.

As hinted by the upbeat performance of major Asian and European equity markets, Wall Street's main indexes started the day in the positive territory supported by risk-on flows. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4% on the day while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were both gaining 0.7%.

Financial shares gain traction

Reflecting the upbeat market mood, the CBOE Volatility Index dropped to its lowest level since the first week of March and was last seen falling 2.3% on the day near 35 points.

Among the 11-major S&P 500 sectors, the Financials Index is rising 1.25% as the top-performer boosted by a more-than-4% increase in the 10-year US Treasury bond yield. On the other hand, the Energy Index is down 1.65% in the early trade amid a 25% fall in US crude oil prices.