Market Volatility Increases Ahead of Jobs Report

The S&P 500 closed lower on Thursday following the release of economic reports.

US jobless claims fell to 204,000 in the week ending December 31, compared to the previous week's revised reading of 223,000, while private businesses added 235,000 jobs in December.

The release of jobs report for the month of December will remain in focus today. Analysts expect a 200,000 rise in nonfarm payrolls for December, compared to 263,000 in the previous month. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 3.7% in December.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with real estate and utilities stocks recording the biggest decline on Thursday. However, energy stocks bucked the overall market trend, gaining around 2% during the session.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.59% to close at 10,741.22 on Thursday, amid losses in shares of Tesla Inc TSLA and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.

The S&P 500 fell 1.16%, while the Dow Jones dropped 1.02% to 32,930.08 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 2% to 22.46 points on Thursday.

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.

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