S&P 500 Settles Lower But Records Weekly Gain, Market Volatility Decreases

The S&P 500 closed lower on Friday following the release of mixed economic reports.

All three major stock indices, however, recorded gains last week. Retail sales in the U.S. dropped 1% month-over-month in March versus a revised 0.2% decline in February. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment rose to 63.5 in April from 62 in the prior month.

Citigroup Inc C reported strong Q1 results, while JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM also reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter on Friday.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS, Morgan Stanley MS and Bank of America Corp BAC are all set to release earnings this week.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with real estate and utilities stocks recording the biggest losses on Friday. However, financial and communication services stocks closed higher during the session.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.23% to close at 13,079.52 on Friday, amid losses in shares of Microsoft Corp MSFT and Tesla Inc TSLA.

The S&P 500 fell 0.21%, while the Dow Jones lost 0.42% to 33,886.47 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 4.1% to 17.07 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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