Investor Sentiment Rises Further Following November Jobs Report

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further improvement in overall market sentiment, with the index remaining in the "Greed" zone on Friday.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday following the release of jobs data. The S&P 500 climbed to a fresh high for the year.

Non-farm payrolls grew by 199,000 in November, an increase from the 150,000 reported in October and above the expected 180,000. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in November from 3.9% in the previous month.

Lululemon Athletica Inc LULU shares gained over 5% on Friday after the company reported upbeat results for its third quarter. Shares of RH RH fell 14% on Friday after the company posted an unexpected loss for its third quarter.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with energy and information technology stocks recording the biggest gains on Friday. However, consumer staples and real estate bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 130 points to 36,247.87 on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.41% at 4,604.37, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.45% at 14,403.97 during Friday’s session.

All the major indices closed the week higher, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.2% and the Dow closing slightly higher last week.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Oracle Corporation ORCL, Casey's General Stores, Inc. CASY and Blue Bird Corporation BLBD today.

At a current reading of 67.6, the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 65.4.

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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