Dow Tumbles Over 300 Points Following Economic Reports, Nvidia, Microsoft Decline: Fear & Greed Index Moves To 'Neutral' Zone

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a further decline in the overall market sentiment, with the index moving to the “Neutral” zone on Friday.

U.S. stocks settled lower on Friday, with the Dow Jones falling more than 300 points during the session. The S&P 500 recorded a weekly loss of 2.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell around 3.2%. The 30-stock Dow lost 1.2% during the week.

Major tech stocks recorded losses, with Nvidia Corp. NVDA shares falling over 3% on Friday, and Microsoft Corp. MSFT stock losing around 2.8% during the session. However, shares of Tesla Inc. TSLA gained around 3% on Friday.

Shares of vaccine companies settled lower on Friday after President-elect Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the HHS. Moderna Inc. MRNA shares dipped over 7%, while Amgen Inc. AMGN shares declined more than 4% during the session. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF dipped over 5%, recording its worst week since 2020.

On the economic data front, U.S. export prices increased by 0.8% in October, while import prices rose by 0.3% month-over-month in October. U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% month-over-month in October compared to a revised 0.8% increase in September, topping market estimates of 0.3%

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with information technology, communication services, and healthcare stocks recording the biggest losses on Friday. However, utilities and financials stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 306 points to 43,444.99 on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 1.32% to 5,870.62, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.24% at 18,680.12 during Friday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Trip.com Group Limited TCOM, Brady Corporation BRC, and AECOM ACM today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 50.9, the index moved to the “Neutral” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 58.2.

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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