Market sentiment - Fear and Greed

Dow Drops for Third Session: Investor Sentiment Improves, but Greed Index Remains in ‘Fear’ Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled mostly lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones index recording losses for the third straight session.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 clawed back most of its morning decline Thursday, closing slightly lower after sources told Reuters that U.S. and Iranian negotiators meeting in New York are discussing a phased deal that would have Tehran reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) dropped 3.5% after issuing a force majeure notice for its New Mexico data center project, raising fresh questions about the pace of AI infrastructure buildout. TD SYNNEX Corp. (NYSE:SNX) slid around 10% even after beating fiscal third-quarter revenue estimates at $21.6 billion.

On the economic data front, the U.S. current account deficit increased to $246 billion in the second quarter, from a revised $212.6 billion gap in the previous quarter, versus market estimates of a $255 billion gap. U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 1,000 to 197,000 in the second week of September, compared to market estimates of 201,000.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with materials, utilities and consumer staples stocks recording the biggest losses on Thursday. However, communication services and health care stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 162 points to 51,349.98 on Thursday. The S&P 500 slipped 0.02% to 7,704.13, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.01% at 26,939.37 during Thursday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Tamboran Resources Corp. (NYSE:TBN) today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 36, the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Thursday, versus a prior reading of 33.

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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