S&P 500 Settles Lower Ahead Of Economic Data; Market Volatility Increases Slightly

The S&P 500 closed lower on Wednesday as investors assessed earnings reports and economic data.

Microsoft Corp MSFT and Alphabet Inc GOOGL reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Meta Platforms, Inc. META shares jumped in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company reported upbeat Q1 results.

On the economic data front, U.S. durable goods orders increased by 3.2% from a month ago in March following a revised 1.2% drop in February, while wholesale inventories rose 0.1% month-over-month in March.

Traders are awaiting data on GDP and the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Federal Reserve’s favoured inflation gauge, scheduled for release today.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with utilities and industrials stocks recording the biggest losses on Wednesday. However, information technology stocks bucked the overall market trend, gaining around 1.7% during the session.

The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.64% to close at 12,806.48 on Wednesday, amid gains in shares of Microsoft Corp MSFT and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.

The S&P 500 fell 0.38%, while the Dow Jones lost 0.68% to 33,301.87 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 0.4% to close at 18.84 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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