Investor Sentiment Falls Ahead Of Jobs Report; Dow Falls For Third Session

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further decline in overall market sentiment, but the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index recording losses for the third consecutive day.

On the economic data front, U.S. private businesses hired 103,000 workers in November compared to a revised 106,000 gain in October and versus markets expectations of 130,000. The U.S. trade gap increased to $64.3 billion in October from a revised $61.2 billion gap in September.

Data on U.S. jobs report will be released on Friday, with analysts expecting the US economy to add 160,000 jobs in November.

Shares of Campbell Soup Co CPB gained 7% on Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and reaffirmed FY24 guidance. Shares of Yext, Inc. YEXT fell 21% after the company reported third-quarter financial results and issued guidance.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with energy and information technology stocks recording the biggest losses on Wednesday. However, utilities and industrials bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 70 points to 36,054.43 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.39% at 4,549.34, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.58% at 14,146.71 during Wednesday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Broadcom Inc. AVGO, Lululemon Athletica Inc. LULU and Dollar General Corporation DG today.

At a current reading of 62.9, the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 66.5.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

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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