Dow Settles Above 45,000 For First Time As Salesforce, Marvell Surge: Investor Sentiment Improves, Fear Index In 'Greed' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index closing above the 45,000 level for the first time.

Shares of Salesforce Inc. CRM surged around 11% on Wednesday after the company posted better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter revenue. Shares of Marvell Technology Inc. MRVL climbed around 23% after the chipmaker topped earnings expectations and issued upbeat fourth-quarter guidance.

On the economic data front, U.S. private businesses added 146K workers to their payrolls for the month of November compared to a revised 184K gain in October, versus market estimates of 150K. U.S. factory orders rose by 0.2% from the previous month to $586.7 billion in October. The ISM services PMI fell to 52.1 in November compared to 56 in October and down from market estimates of 55.5.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with energy, materials, and financial stocks recording the biggest losses on Wednesday. However, consumer discretionary and information technology stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 309 points to 45,014.04 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.61% to 6,086.49, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.30% to close at 19,735.12 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Dollar General Corporation DG, Kroger Co. KR, and Lululemon Athletica Inc. LULU today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 57.1, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 56.4.

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.

Read Next:

• Top 3 Tech And Telecom Stocks That May Implode This Quarter

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock