Nasdaq plunges more than 300 points, market volatility increases

U.S. Stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday as investors worried about aggressive Federal Reserve policy, sparking recession fears for the U.S. economy.< /p>

The Down is down more than 8% this month, while the S&P 500 has fallen to its lowest level last seen in November 2020.

Shares of tech heavyweights including Apple Inc AAPL and NVIDIA Corporation NVDA fell more than 4% on Thursday.

On the economic data front, initial claims for unemployment insurance in the United States fell by 16,000 to 193,000 in the week ending September 24, recording the lowest since late April, while the U.S. economy shrank 0.6% annualized. on quarter in the second quarter.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.86% to close at 11,164.78 on Thursday, while the S&P 500 fell 2.11%. The Dow Jones plunged about 458 points to settle at 29,225.61 in the previous session.

All of the major S&P 500 sectors closed lower, with utilities and consumer discretionary stocks posting the biggest falls on Thursday.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 5.5% to 31.84 points on Thursday.

What is the CBOE Volatility Index?

The CBOE Volatility Index, commonly known as the VIX, is a measure of stock market volatility expectation based on the call and put options of the S&P 500 index.

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