Fear & Greed Index Moves Back To 'Fear' Zone Amid Sharp Decline In US Stocks

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index moved back to the "fear" zone after the U.S. stocks recorded sharp losses on Tuesday.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the headline CPI rose 8.3% in August, down from 8.5% in July. The August CPI reading came in above average economist estimates of 8%.

Markets are now expecting an interest rate increase of at least 75 basis points at the Fed’s upcoming meeting, with some also seeing a full-percentage-point increase.

The Dow declined 3.94% to close at 31,104.97 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 fell 4.32% to 3,932.69, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 5.16% to settle at 11,633.57 in the previous session, amid a drop in stocks, including, Apple Inc. AAPL and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.

Investors are now awaiting earnings results from BRP Inc. DOOO and Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited TNP, scheduled for release today.

At a current reading of 42.0, the index moved back to the "fear" zone, following a previous reading of 49.0.

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.