Nasdaq Settles Lower, Market Volatility Rises Sharply

The Nasdaq recorded losses on Friday in a holiday-shortened trading session, as investors kept an eye on holiday sales and rising covid-19 cases in China.

Apple Inc. AAPL shares dropped 2% on Friday following unrest at a Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou, which could impact iPhone production.

Traders now see a 71.1% chance that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 50 basis points during its December meeting.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a mixed note, with real estate and utilities stocks recording the biggest surge on Friday. However, communication services stocks were among the worst performing stocks, dropping around 0.7% in the previous session.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.70% to close at 11,756.03 on Friday, amid a drop in shares of Apple Inc and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN. The S&P 500 slipped 0.03%, while the Dow Jones gained around 153 points to settle at 34,347.03 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 7.9% to 22.04 points.

What is CBOE Volatility Index?
The CBOE Volatility Index, popularly known as VIX, is a measure of the equity market's expectation of volatility based on S&P 500 index call and put options.