Nasdaq Records Best Quarter Since 2020, Market Volatility Declines Further

US stocks closed higher on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq recording the best quarter since 2020.

The S&P 500 gained around 7%, while the Nasdaq added 16.8% in the first quarter. For the month, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq jumped around 3.5% and 6.7%, respectively.

The US core PCE price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, increased by 4.6% annually in February.

The SPDR Regional Banking ETF gained around 1% on Friday.

All the major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with consumer discretionary and real estate stocks recording the biggest gains on Friday.

The Nasdaq 100 jumped 1.68% to close at 13,181.35 on Friday, amid gains in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Apple Inc AAPL.

The S&P 500 rose 1.44%, while the Dow Jones added 1.26% to 33,274.15 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 1.7% to 18.70 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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