Market Volatility Eases Slightly Following Hopes Of China COVID-19 Policy Change

US stocks closed mostly lower on Tuesday with markets awaiting guidance on the Federal Reserve's rate increase strategy.

US oil futures closed higher in the prior session on hopes that China would loosen its strict covid-19 restrictions that had raised concerns over the worldwide economic growth.

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company HPE gained in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the company posted upbeat results for its fourth quarter and issued strong forecast for the first quarter.

Major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a mixed note, with real estate and energy stocks recording the biggest surge on Tuesday. However, information technology stocks were among the worst performers in the previous session.

The Nasdaq 100 dipped 0.73% to close at 11,503.45 on Tuesday, amid a drop in shares of Apple Inc and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN. The S&P 500 dropped 0.16%, while the Dow Jones gained around 3 points to settle at 33,852.53 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) dropped 1.4% to 21.89 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.