Dow Surges Over 350 Points, Nasdaq Falls: Investor Sentiment Improves Slightly, But Greed Index Remains In 'Fear' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Monday, with the Dow Jones index surging more than 350 points during the session. However, the Nasdaq settled lower amid a decline in tech stocks.

Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR shares fell 3.4%, while Nvidia Corporation NVDA declined around 2% on Monday.

On the economic data front, U.S. consumer inflation expectations for the year ahead came in unchanged at 3% in December, the same as in the previous month.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with energy, materials and healthcare stocks recording gains on Monday. However, utilities and information technology stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 359 points to 42,297.12 on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.16% to 5,836.22, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.38% at 19,088.10 during Monday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Calavo Growers, Inc. CVGW, Karooooo Ltd. KARO and Applied Digital Corporation APLD today.

Big banks including Citigroup C, Goldman Sachs GS, JPMorgan Chase JPM, Morgan Stanley MS and Bank of America BAC will release earnings this week.

At a current reading of 26.7, the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Monday, versus a prior reading of 26.4.

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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