Dow Falls Over 300 Points Despite Strong Earnings: Investor Sentiment Declines, Fear Index Remains In 'Greed' Zone

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further decline in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Thursday.

U.S. stocks settled mostly lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones index falling more than 300 points during the session.

Meta Platforms Inc. META jumped 11% after delivering blockbuster second-quarter results and upbeat revenue guidance. Microsoft Corp. MSFT climbed about 4% after reporting strong Azure revenues.

The combined market value of the Magnificent Seven swelled past $19.4 trillion, with both Microsoft and Nvidia Corp. NVDA worth more than $4 trillion.

On the economic data front, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose to 2.6% in June from 2.3% in May, surpassing the 2.5% forecast. Core PCE, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, held at 2.8%, above the 2.7% consensus. U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 1,000 from the previous week to 218,000 in the fourth week of July, compared to market estimates of 224,000.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with materials, real estate and health care stocks recording the biggest losses on Thursday. However, communication services and utilities stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.

The Dow Jones closed lower by 330 points to 44,130.98 on Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 0.37% to 6,339.39, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.03% to 21,122.45 during Thursday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Chevron Corp. CVX, Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM and WW Grainger Inc. GWW today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 62.5, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 65.3.

The Fear & Greed Index is a measure of the current market sentiment. It is based on the premise that higher fear exerts pressure on stock prices, while higher greed has the opposite effect. The index is calculated based on seven equal-weighted indicators. The index ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 represents maximum fear and 100 signals maximum greediness.

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