Dow Drops Nearly 200 Points But Market Volatility Eases

US stocks closed mixed on Thursday as a drop in Salesforce, Inc. CRM shares weighed on the Dow Jones index.

Salesforce shares tumbled around 8.3% on Thursday after the company reported Q3 financial results and said Bret Taylor will step down as vice chair and co-CEO.

Traders also digested economic reports, which showed manufacturing activity in the US contracting for the first time in 2-1/2 years during the month of November. The personal consumption expenditures price index, meanwhile, increased 0.3% in October, the same as in September.

Majority of the sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a lower note, with financials and consumer staples stocks recording the biggest decline on Thursday. However, communication services and health care stocks traded slightly higher in the previous session.

The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.1% to close at 12,041.90 on Thursday, amid a slight gain in shares of Apple Inc AAPL. The S&P 500 slipped 0.09%, while the Dow Jones dropped 0.56% to settle at 34,395.01 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) dropped 3.6% to 19.84 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.