S&P Records Second Straight Monthly Gain; Market Volatility Decreases Further

The S&P 500 closed higher on Friday following another batch of strong earnings reports from companies.

The benchmark S&P 500 closed higher for the week and also notched gains for the second consecutive month.

Exxon Mobil Corp XOM shares closed higher on Friday after reporting a record profit for the first quarter. Chevron Corporation CVX also reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter.

Intel Corporation INTC shares gained 4% on Friday after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results and issued guidance.

Shares of First Republic Bank FRC dropped more than 43% on Friday, sinking another 34% in after-hours trading on continued weakness following a report suggesting the bank will be placed under U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation receivership.

Majority of major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with energy and financials stocks recording the biggest gains on Friday. However, utilities and consumer discretionary stocks settled slightly lower during the session.

The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.65% to close at 13,245.99 on Friday, amid gains in shares of NVIDIA Corporation NVDA and Tesla Inc TSLA.

The S&P 500 rose 0.83%, while the Dow Jones added 0.80% to 34,098.16 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 7.3% to close at 15.78 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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