S&P 500 Settles Lower As Investors Digest Earnings Reports, Market Volatility Increases

The S&P 500 closed lower on Thursday following weak earnings results from companies, including Tesla Inc TSLA and AT&T Inc. T.

Tesla shares dropped around 9.8% on Thursday after the company reported a decrease in operating margins. Elon Musk said Tesla has the potential to price its vehicles at zero profit.

AT&T shares tumbled over 10% after the company reported mixed Q1 financial results. American Express Co AXP also posted downbeat quarterly earnings.

As far as the earnings season is concerned, 16% of the S&P 500 companies have released quarterly results so far, with around 76% of those exceeding market estimates.

On the economic data front, U.S. initial jobless claims increased by 5 thousand to 245 thousand in the week ended April 15, above market estimates of 240 thousand.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with consumer discretionary and real estate stocks recording the biggest losses on Thursday. However, consumer staples stocks closed slightly higher during the session.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.78% to close at 12,985.98 on Thursday, amid a decline in shares of Tesla Inc TSLA and NVIDIA Corporation NVDA.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.60%, while the Dow Jones lost 0.33% to 33,786.62 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 4.3% to close at 17.17 on Thursday, after dropping to its lowest level since Nov. 2021 on Wednesday.
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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