S&P 500 Notches Weekly Loss Following Jobs Data, Market Volatility Increases Sharply

The S&P 500 settled lower on Friday, recording its biggest weekly percentage loss since September amid concerns of contagion in the country’s financial sector.

Investors assessed the jobs report, which showed the US economy unexpectedly added 311,000 jobs in February, well above market estimates of 205,000, and compared to revised 504,000 in January. The unemployment rate rose to 3.6% in February versus a 50-year low of 3.4% recorded in January.

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

The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.38% to close 11,830.28 on Friday, amid losses in shares of Apple Inc AAPL and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.

The S&P 500 fell 1.45%, while the Dow Jones lost 1.07% to 31,909.64 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 9.7% to 24.80 points on Friday.
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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