US stocks closed lower on Thursday, reversing gains earlier recorded during the session.

Data released on Thursday showed an initial rise in jobless numbers to 196,000 in the week ended February 4, up from the previous week’s nine-month low of 183,000.

The Walt Disney Company DIS Shares fell 1.3% after the company released first-quarter results. PepsiCo, Inc. PEP Shares gained 1% after the company reported positive quarterly earnings and announced a 10% increase in its annual dividend to $5.06 per share.

As for earnings season, more than half of S&P 500 companies have released quarterly earnings so far, with about 69% beating market estimates.

All major sectors of the S&P 500 ended negatively, with communications services, materials and utilities posting the largest losses on Thursday.

The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.91% to close at 12,381.17 on Thursday amid gains alphabet inc Google And Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.

The S&P 500 lost 0.88% while the Dow Jones fell 0.73% to 33,699.88 in the previous session.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 5.5% to 20.71 points on Wednesday.
What is the CBOE Volatility Index?

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

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