S&P 500 Settles Higher, Market Volatility Drops

The S&P 500 settled higher on Friday as investors digested the recent inflation data.

A Commerce Department report showed personal spending increased 0.1% month-over-month in November, while personal consumption expenditure price index rose by 5.5% year-over-year in November. Personal income in the US rose 0.4% from a month ago in November.

Shares of News Corp. NWSA gained 2.8% on Friday following a report indicating Michael Bloomberg is interested in acquiring either Wall Street Journal parent company Dow Jones or The Washington Post. The WSJ is a media brand under News Corp.

The S&P recorded losses for the third straight week, with the benchmark index dropping 0.2%. The Dow, however, added 0.9% last week.

All the major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with energy and communication services stocks recording the biggest gains on Friday.

The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.27% to close at 10,985.45 on Friday, amid decline in shares of Apple Inc. AAPL and Tesla Inc TSLA. The S&P 500 rose 0.59%, while the Dow Jones rose 0.53% to 33,203.93 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) dropped 5% to 20.87 points on Friday.

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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