Dow Tumbles Around 700 Points Following Jobs Data, Investor Sentiment Dips Further: Greed Index Remains In 'Fear' Zone

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further decline in overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Friday.

U.S. stocks settled lower on Friday, with the Dow Jones index dipping around 700 points during the session following the release of jobs report.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 256,000 last month, up from the downwardly revised 212,000 in November and sharply surpassing economist expectations of 160,000 payrolls as tracked by TradingEconomics. The unemployment rate fell from 4.2% to 4.1%, beating forecasts of an unchanged reading.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% month-over-month in December, matching expectations but slowing from November’s 0.4%. On a year-over-year basis, wages increased 3.9%, slightly below of the 4% forecast.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and issued 2025 guidance. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA reported better-than-expected first-quarter results.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 697 points to 41,938.45 on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 1.54% to 5,827.04, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.63% at 19,161.63 during Friday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Comtech Telecommunications Corp. CMTL, KB Home KBH and ServiceTitan, Inc. TTAN today.

At a current reading of 26.9, the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 30.4.

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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