Investor Optimism Improves Following Tech Earnings, Jobs Data; S&P 500 Gains For 4th Week

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an improvement in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Friday.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 index hitting a new record high during the session. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 1.4%, recording gains for the fourth week in a row.

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. META jumped over 20% on Friday as the company reported upbeat fourth-quarter financial results and initiated a quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share. Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN shares gained around 7.9% after the company posted stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.

Apple Inc. AAPL also reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for its first quarter.

On the economic data front, non-farm payrolls increased by 353,000 in January, a jump from the upwardly revised figure of 333,000 for December and well above the expected 180,000. The unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7%, below the expected 3.8%. Average hourly earnings showed 0.6% growth for the month, a sharp increase from the previous 0.4% and below the predicted 0.3%.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 135 points to 38,654.42 on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 1.07% at 4,958.61, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.74% at 15,628.95 during Friday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Tyson Foods, Inc. TSN, McDonald's Corporation MCD, Caterpillar Inc. CAT, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated VRTX today.

At a current reading of 67, the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 63.

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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