Nasdaq Settles Higher Following CPI; Market Volatility Drops Sharply

The Nasdaq increased sharply following lower-than-expected rise in inflation for April.

The annual inflation rate in the US fell to 4.9% in April, recording the lowest level since April 2021, and compared to 5% in March. Month-over-month CPI rose 0.4% in April.

Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN shares rose around 2% on Wednesday following better-than-expected Q1 results.

After the closing bell, The Walt Disney Company DIS posted in-line earnings for its second quarter, but said Disney+ paid subscribers dropped 2% year-over-year during the quarter.

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

The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.11% to close at 13,347.83 on Wednesday, amid gains in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Alphabet Inc GOOGL.

The S&P 500 rose 0.45%, while the Dow Jones lost 0.09% to 33,531.33 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 7% to close at 16.47 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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