Volatility In Markets Increases; Nasdaq Drops Sharply

US stocks closed lower on Wednesday amid a sharp decline in the Nasdaq index.

The Walt Disney Company DIS shares gained 5.4% on Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results. The company also announced it will restructure into three separate units and target $5.5 billion in cost cuts.

CVS Health Corporation CVS gained 3.5% after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 EPS and sales results. CVS also entered into a definitive agreement in which it will acquire Oak Street Health in an all-cash transaction for $39 per share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $10.6 billion.

As far as the earnings season is concerned, 297 S&P 500 companies have released quarterly results so far, with around 69% of those exceeding market estimates.

All the major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with communication services and utilities stocks recording the biggest losses on Wednesday.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.83% to close at 12,495.38 on Wednesday, amid gains in shares of Alphabet Inc GOOGL and Apple Inc AAPL.

The S&P 500 lost 1.11%, while the Dow Jones fell 0.61% to 33,949.01 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 5.2% to 19.63 points on Wednesday.

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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