Market Volatility Falls Ahead Of Jobs Report, S&P 500 Settles Lower

The S&P 500 closed lower for the third straight session on Thursday as investors monitored latest economic data and earnings.

The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield increased as high as 4.198% during the Thursday’s session.

U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 6,000 from the previous week to 227,000 in the week ending July 29, in line with estimates. The ISM services PMI declined to 52.7 in July from 53.9 in June.

Investors are waiting for July's jobs data, due to be released on Friday.

After the closing bell, Apple Inc. AAPL reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, but saw a decline in iPhone, Mac and iPad revenues. Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN reported upbeat results for its second quarter and issued strong guidance.

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

The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.11% to close at 15,353.54 on Thursday, amid losses in shares of Apple Inc AAPL and Microsoft Corp MSFT.

The S&P 500 declined 0.25%, while the Dow Jones fell 0.19% to 35,215.89 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 1.1% to close at 15.92 on Thursday.

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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