Market Volatility Increases; S&P 500 Edges Higher Ahead Of Inflation Data, Bank Earnings

The S&P 500 closed slightly higher on Monday, as investors digested employment data released on Friday.

On Friday, the Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in March, just shy of economist estimates of 240,000 new jobs. U.S. wages grew 4.2% year-over-year, while the unemployment rate ticked lower from 3.6% to 3.5%.

Wholesale inventories in the U.S. rose 0.1% from a month ago in February, compared to the preliminary estimate of a 0.2% increase and compared to a revised 0.6% drop in January.

Markets are now seeing a 72% chance that the Federal Reserve will raise rate by another 25 basis points at its May meeting.

Big banks, including Citigroup Inc. C, Wells Fargo & Co WFC and JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM are scheduled to report earnings this week. Inflation data will be released on Wednesday.

Major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a mixed note, with industrials and energy stocks recording the biggest gains on Monday. However, communication services and utilities stocks closed lower during the session.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.09% to close at 13,051.23 on Monday, amid losses in shares of Apple Inc AAPL and Alphabet Inc GOOGL.

The S&P 500 rose 0.10%, while the Dow Jones added 0.30% to 33,586.52 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 3.5% to 19.04 points on Monday.

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.

Read Next: These 3 Energy Stocks With Over 4% Dividend Yields Are Recommended By Wall Street's Most Accurate Analysts