S&P 500 Settles Lower Following Weak Earnings Reports; Market Volatility Rises Sharply

The S&P 500 closed lower on Tuesday following weak earnings reports from several companies.

United Parcel Service Inc UPS shares dipped 10% on Wednesday, recording its biggest daily loss since July 2006, after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results and issued guidance.

The KBW Regional Banking index tumbled more than 3% on Tuesday after First Republic Bank FRC shares dipped to a record low.

Data released Tuesday showed US consumer confidence dropping to a nine-month low level in April, which also weighed on equity markets.

Traders are projecting the Federal Reserve to increase rates by 25 basis points at its upcoming meeting.

After the closing bell, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL reported better-than-expected Q1 results and announced a $70 billion buyback, while Microsoft Corporation MSFT also reported upbeat results for its third quarter.

All the major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with materials and information technology stocks recording the biggest losses on Tuesday.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.89% to close at 12,725.11 on Tuesday, amid losses in shares of NVIDIA Corporation NVDA and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.

The S&P 500 fell 1.58%, while the Dow Jones lost 1.02% to 33,530.83 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 11.1% to close at 18.76 on Tuesday.
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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