Dow Tumbles Over 200 Points Following Earnings Reports: Fear & Greed Index Remains In 'Neutral' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Thursday, with the Dow Jones index falling by more than 200 points during the session.

Apple Inc. AAPL climbed by more than 3% on Thursday, on top of the 5.1% gain recorded on Wednesday, as investors bet the tech giant could sidestep new import duties.

ConocoPhillips COP reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter on Thursday. Eli Lilly and Company LLY shares plunged 14%, recording their worst single-day performance since August 2000.

On the economic data front, U.S. wholesale inventories increased by 0.1% month-over-month to $906.3 billion in June following a 0.3% decline in the previous month. U.S. unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector climbed by 1.6% in the second quarter, while labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector surged by 2.4% in the second quarter. U.S. initial jobless claims surged by 7,000 to 226,000 in the final week of July, compared to market expectations of a reading of 221,000.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with utilities, information technology and consumer staples stocks recording the biggest gains on Thursday. However, health care and financial stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 224 points to 43,968.64 on Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 0.08% to 6,340.00, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.35% to 21,242.70 during Thursday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. AXL, Plains All American Pipeline LP PAA and Under Armour Inc. UA today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 54.7, the index remained in the “Neutral” zone on Thursday, versus a prior reading of 55.2.

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.

Read Next: