Market Volatility Decreases; S&P 500 Settles Lower

The S&P 500 settled lower on Friday amid a decline in Microsoft Corporation MSFT shares.

The Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at the 5%-5.25% range on Wednesday. The central bank, meanwhile, signalled it would increase rates by another two times this year.

NVIDIA Corporation NVDA shares edged higher on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock from $450 to $500.

U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the Juneteenth holiday.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with communication services and information technology stocks recording the biggest losses on Friday. However, utilities stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing higher during the session.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.67% to close at 15,083.92 on Friday, amid gains in shares of Apple Inc AAPL and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.

The S&P 500 fell 0.37%, while the Dow Jones dropped 0.32% to 34,299.12 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 2.8% to close at 14.09 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.

Read Next: $3.8M Bet On This Energy Stock? Check Out These 3 Stocks Insiders Are Buying