The S&P 500 settled lower on Wednesday following minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent meeting.
U.S. factory orders rose 0.3% month-over-month for May, versus market expectations for a 0.8% growth.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index fell around 2.2%, with Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shares losing over 3% on Wednesday.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares gained 2.9% on Wednesday in anticipation of the launch of the company’s Threads platform, which would compete with Twitter.
Majority of sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with materials recording the biggest losses on Wednesday. However, utilities and communication services stocks closed higher during the Wednesday’s session.
The Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.03% to close at 15,203.78 on Wednesday, amid slight decline in shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA).
The S&P 500 fell 0.20%, while the Dow Jones dropped 0.38% to 34,288.64 in the previous session.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 3.5% to close at 14.18 on Wednesday.
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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