Market Volatility Declines Following US Inflation Data

U.S. stocks settled sharply higher on Thursday, after an earlier sell-off earlier in the session.

Traders digested the consumer prices index, which showed the annual inflation rate in the US easing for the third straight month to 8.2% in September, the lowest in seven months, down from 8.3% in the previous month. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 8.1%.

US big banks, including, JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, Morgan Stanley MS, Wells Fargo & Company WFC, and Citigroup Inc. C, are all set to release earnings today.

The Nasdaq 100 jumped 2.30% to close at 11,033.58 on Thursday amid a decline in Apple Inc AAPL and Microsoft Corporation MSFT shares, while the S&P 500 rose 2.6%. The Dow Jones jumped around 828 points to settle at 30,038.72 in the previous session.

All the major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a higher note, with financials and energy stocks recording the biggest surge on Thursday.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 4.7% to 31.99 points.

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.