Dow Tumbles Over 300 Points, Market Volatility Rises Sharply

US stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday as investors digested the recent economic reports.

US jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 216,000 in the week ending December 17, compared to market estimates of 220,000. The US economy, meanwhile, expanded an annualized 3.2% on quarter in the third quarter, up from 2.9% in the second estimate.

Investors remained concerned that major central banks around the world will continue tightening their monetary policies.

All the major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with information technology and consumer discretionary stocks recording the biggest plunge on Thursday.

The Nasdaq 100 dipped 2.49% to close at 10,956.14 on Thursday, amid decline in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Tesla Inc TSLA. The S&P 500 fell 1.45%, while the Dow Jones dropped 1.05% to 33,027.49 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 9.5% to 21.97 points on Thursday.

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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