S&P 500 Settles Lower Ahead Of Jobs Report, Market Volatility Increases Sharply

The S&P 500 settled lower on Thursday with bank stocks recording biggest losses.

The S&P 500 bank index dipped 6.6% on Thursday after dropping to its weakest level since mid-October.

US initial jobless claims climbed by 21,000 from the prior week to 211,000 in the week ending March 4, higher than market estimates of 195,000. Analysts expect February non-farm payrolls increasing 205,000 for February, following January's 517,000 figure.

General Electric Company GE shares, meanwhile, gained 5.3% on Thursday after the company updated guidance at its annual investor conference.

All the major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with energy and materials stocks recording the biggest plunge on Thursday.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.80% to close 11,995.88 on Thursday, amid losses in shares of Tesla Inc TSLA and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.

The S&P 500 fell 1.85%, while the Dow Jones lost 1.66% to 32,254.86 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 18.3% to 22.61 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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