Market Volatility Falls Further As US Stocks Settle Higher On Thursday

U.S. stocks settled higher on Thursday as investors digested recent hawkish comments from Fed officials.

Markets are now expecting the Fed to increase interest rates by 75 basis points at this month's policy meeting. Data released Thursday showed jobless claims dropping to a three-month low last week.

The European Central Bank also raised its interest rates by 75 basis points during its recent meeting and also signalled further rate hikes.

Shares of GameStop Corp. GME jumped more than 7% on Thursday after reporting a lower-than-expected quarterly loss.

The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.50% to close at 12,321.19 on Thursday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.66%. The Dow Jones jumped around 193 points to settle at 31,774.52 in the previous session.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with financials and health care stocks recording the biggest surge on Thursday. Communication services, however, was the worst performing sector, dropping around 0.4% in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) dipped 4.2% to close at 23.61 points 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.