S&P 500 Gains For Third Day: Investor Sentiment Improves, Fear Index Moves To 'Greed' Zone

Benzinga · 2d ago

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further improvement in the overall market sentiment, while the index moved to the “Greed” zone on Monday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones index gaining more than 200 points during the session. The S&P 500 also recorded gains for the third straight session.

The New York Stock Exchange will close at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday and will be closed on Thursday for Christmas Day.

UniFirst Corp. (NYSE:UNF) received an acquisition proposal from Cintas Corp. (NASDAQ:CTAS) for $275 per share in cash.

On the economic data front, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index increased to -0.21 in September from a reading of -0.31 in August.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with materials, industrials and financials stocks recording the biggest gains on Monday. However, consumer staples stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 228 points to 48,362.68 on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.64% to 6,878.49, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.52% to 23,428.83 during Monday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Limoneira Co. (NASDAQ:LMNR) and Good Times Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ:GTIM) today.

What Is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 56, the index moved to the “Greed” zone on Monday, versus a prior reading of 49.7.

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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