S&P 500 Settles Higher Ahead Of Big Bank Earnings, Market Volatility Decreases

The S&P 500 closed higher on Monday ahead of a heavy week of earnings results from major companies.

Big banks, including, Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS, Bank of America Corp BAC and Morgan Stanley MS are all set to release earnings this week. Tesla Inc TSLA and Netflix Inc NFLX will also reports earnings this week.

State Street Corp STT shares dropped more than 9% on Monday after the company’s quarterly profit missed analysts' expectations.

On the economic data front, the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index surged to 10.8 in April from -24.6 in the previous, beating market expectations of -18, while the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index climbed for a fourth month to a reading of 45 in April.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with real estate and financial stocks recording the biggest gains on Monday. However, energy and communication services stocks closed lower during the session.

The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.06% to close at 13,087.71 on Monday, amid gains in shares of Microsoft Corp MSFT and Tesla Inc TSLA.

The S&P 500 rose 0.33%, while the Dow Jones added 0.30% to 33,987.18 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 0.7% to 16.95 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: Top 5 Health Care Stocks That May Fall Off A Cliff This Quarter