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

U.S. stocks settled higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones index gaining close to 300 points during the session.

Chip stocks were among the top gainers on Thursday after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:TSM) reported another record quarter.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) gained more than 4% after better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) shares surged almost 6% following upbeat quarterly results.

On the economic data front, U.S. import prices increased 0.1% year-over-year in November, while export prices rose 3.3% year-over-year. U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 9,000 from the previous week to 198,000 in the week ending Jan. 10, versus market estimates of 215,000.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with utilities, industrials and real estate stocks recording the biggest gains on Thursday. However, energy and health care stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 293 points to 49,442.44 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.26% to 6,944.47, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.25% at 23,530.02 during Thursday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE:MTB), State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT) and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE:PNC) today.

What Is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 61.5, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Thursday, versus a prior reading of 61.

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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