U.S. Stocks Settle Mixed, Market Volatility Increases

U.S. stocks closed mixed on Thursday, after recording sharp gains in the previous sessions.

The latest data on inflation showed consumer and producer prices slowing higher-than-expected in July. However, investors realized that the Fed would still need to aggressively increase rates to fully control increasing consumer prices.

The S&P 500 fell slightly after hitting to new three-month highs following the release of producer price index. U.S. producer prices dropped 0.5% month-over-month in July, following a revised 1% increase in the previous month and versus market expectations of a 0.2% rise.

High-growth stocks, including Tesla Inc TSLA and Amazon.com Inc AMZN, which rose sharply on Wednesday, moved lower by around 2.6% and 1.4%, respectively on Thursday.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.65% to close at 13,291.99 on Thursday, while the S&P 500 lost 0.07%. The Dow Jones gained around 27 points to settle at 33,336.67 in the previous session.

The major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a mixed note, with energy stocks recording the biggest surge on Thursday. Health care, however, was the worst performing sector in the previous session, falling around 0.7%.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) gained 2.3% to 20.20 points.

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.