S&P 500 Drops For Second Session In A Row; Volatility In Markets Decreases

The S&P 500 dropped for the second consecutive session on Wednesday following the release of manufacturing data.

The yield on 10-year notes surpasses 4% for the first time since November, after the ISM survey showed that the US manufacturing activity contracted in February. The ISM manufacturing PMI rose to 47.7 in February from 47.4 in the previous month.

Novavax, Inc. NVAX shares dropped around 26% on Wednesday after the company reported worse-than-expected Q4 results and said substantial doubt exists regarding its ability to continue as a going concern.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with utilities and real estate stocks recording the biggest plunge on Wednesday. However, energy, materials and industrials stocks settled higher during the session.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.86% to close at 11,938.57 on Wednesday, amid gains in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Tesla Inc TSLA.

The S&P 500 fell 0.47%, while the Dow Jones added 0.02% to 32,661.84 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 0.6% to 20.58 points on Wednesday.

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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