Market Volatility Increases Following China Data; S&P 500 Settles Higher

The S&P 500 closed higher on Monday, as investors digested recent economic data from China.

The Chinese economy advanced by 6.3% year-over-year during the second quarter, higher than a 4.5% growth in the prior quarter, but missing expectations of 7.3%. Chinese retail sales rose by 3.1% year-over-year in June, compared to a 12.7% growth in May. The People's Bank of China held its one-year medium-term lending facility rate at 2.65%.

Major companies, including, Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) and Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) are scheduled to release earnings this week.

Earnings for the second quarter are expected to fall 8.1%, compared to the 5.7% decline seen at the start of the month.

Major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a mixed note, with information technology and financials stocks recording the biggest gains on Monday. However, utilities and real estate stocks closed lower during the Monday’s session.

The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.95% to close at 15,713.28 on Friday, amid gains in shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA).

The S&P 500 rose 0.39%, while the Dow Jones gained 0.22% to 34,585.35 in the previous session. The Dow gained 2.3% last week, while the S&P 500 added 2.4%.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 1.1% to close at 13.48 on Monday.

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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