US Stocks End Higher After CPI Data, Market Volatility Drops Sharply

US stocks settled higher on Thursday, extending gains after data showed a decline in consumer prices for December.

Consumer prices declined for the first time in over 2-1/2 years last month, according to the recent report. A separate report also showed a drop in weekly jobless claims.

Big US banks will kick off the start of the Q4 earnings season on Friday.

Major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a mixed note, with energy and real estate stocks recording the biggest surge on Thursday. However, consumer staples stocks were among the worst performers, losing around 0.8% during the session.

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The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.50% to close at 11,459.61 on Thursday, amid gains in shares of Microsoft Corp MSFT and Tesla Inc TSLA.

The S&P 500 rose 0.34%, while the Dow Jones gained 0.64% to 34,189.97 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 10.7% to 18.83 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.

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