S&P 500 Settles Higher Ahead Of Bank Earnings, Market Volatility Decreases

The S&P 500 closed higher on Thursday following the release of economic reports.

U.S. jobless claims climbed by 11 thousand to 239 thousand in the week ending April 8, 2023. Producer prices for final demand declined 0.5% month-over-month in March, recording the biggest drop since April 2020.

Harley-Davidson Inc HOG shares fell around 1.7% on Thursday after the company announced a CFO transition. The company’s CFO Gina Goetter will step down from her role at the end of April to pursue another opportunity.

Netflix, Inc. NFLX shares gained 4.6% after Wedbush reportedly said the recently-launched ad tier could draw new subscribers and password sharing could drive profitability.

Big banks, including Citigroup Inc. C, Wells Fargo & Co WFC and JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM will report earnings today.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with consumer discretionary and communication services stocks recording the biggest gains on Thursday. However, real estate stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing lower during the session.

The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.03% to close at 13,109.39 on Thursday, amid gains in shares of Apple Inc AAPL and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.

The S&P 500 rose 1.33%, while the Dow Jones added 1.14% to 34,029.69 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 6% to 17.95 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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