US stocks got off to a cautious start to the first trading session of September.
Persistent worries of rising interest rates and a recession kept investors on their toes, with US stocks ending last month on a weak note.
Data released on Thursday showed that US manufacturing activity rose steadily in August. All eyes are now on the jobs report due today, with analysts expecting 285k new jobs in August.
That Nasdaq100 up 0.02% to close at 12,274.62 on Thursday during the S&P500 rose 0.30%. That Dow Jones rose 146 points to 31,656.42 in the previous session.
Most sectors of the S&P 500 ended on higher notes, with healthcare and utilities stocks posting the biggest gains on Thursday. However, energy was among the worst performing sectors in the previous session.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 1.2% to close at 25.56 points on Thursday.
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.
