CBOE Volatility Index Settles At One-Year Low As Banks Kick Off Quarterly Earnings Season

US stocks closed higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at their strongest levels in a month, as banks kicked off the quarterly earnings season.

JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM and Bank of America Corp BAC reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter on Friday.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with consumer discretionary and financials stocks recording the biggest surge on Friday. However, real estate and utilities stocks bucked the overall market trend, moving lower, during the session.

The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.71% to close at 11,541.48 on Friday, amid gains in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Apple Inc AAPL.

The S&P 500 rose 0.40%, while the Dow Jones gained 0.33% to 34,302.61 in the previous session. For the week, the S&P 500 added 2.7%, while the Dow gained 2%.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 2.6% to 18.35 points on Friday, settling at a one-year low.

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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