Market Volatility Increases As U.S. Stocks Settle Lower After Recording Biggest Monthly Gains Since 2020

U.S. stocks settled slightly lower after a choppy session on Monday.

Wall Street recorded strong gains last month, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recording their strongest monthly gains in terms of percentage since 2020.

The S&P 500, however, settled lower on Monday following a drop in shares of Exxon Mobil XOM and other energy stocks, with some investors becoming slightly cautious following a sharp rally in the recent period.

U.S. manufacturing activity slowed lesser-than-projected during the month of July, signalling some easing of supply constraints, according to Institute for Supply Management survey on Monday. Although the ISM's index of national factory activity declined to 52.8 in July, but it came in above market estimates of 52.

The Federal Reserve, last week, raised interest rates by 75 bps in order to combat surging inflation.

The Dow Jones fell around 0.14%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dropped approximately 0.28% and 0.18%, respectively on Monday.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 settled lower, with energy stocks recording the biggest decline on Monday. Consumer staples, however, was the top performing sector in the previous session, gaining around 1.2%.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) climbed 7.1% to 22.84 points.

U.S. stock futures also traded lower this morning on Tuesday. Investors are now awaiting the release of the Labor Department's JOLTS report, scheduled for release today.

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.