Fear & Greed Index Remains In 'Extreme Greed' Zone; S&P 500 Hovers Near Record High

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index remained in the "Extreme Greed" zone on Thursday.

U.S. stocks closed mostly higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 ending the session just 0.3% down from its record closing level, notched on Jan. 3, 2022.

Traders see a 74.1% chance that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points in March.

On the economic data front, U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 12,000 to 218,000 in the week ending Dec. 23, compared to market estimates of 210,000. The U.S. trade deficit in goods increased to $90.3 billion in November versus a revised $89.6 billion in the prior month. Pending home sales in the U.S. were unchanged in November versus a revised 1.2% decline in October.

Shares of Cingulate Inc. CING jumped 146% on Thursday. Cingulate received FDA guidance for CTx-1301 (dexmethylphenidate), its lead investigational product candidate for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 54 points to 37,710.10 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.04% at 4,783.35, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.03% at 15,095.14 during Thursday’s session.

The Dow and S&P 500 are on course to close the year higher by 13.8% and 24.6%, respectively.

At a current reading of 77, the index remained in the "Extreme Greed" zone on Thursday.

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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