Markets Bet On U.S. Stock Futures With Easing Fear Levels

The overall fear level saw some easing in the US equity markets, despite the Wall Street settling lower on Tuesday, according to the CNN Money Fear and Greed index.

Wall street closed a choppy session on a lower note on Tuesday amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China.

On the economic data front, job openings in the US fell by 5.4% in June, according to the Labor Department.

Stocks recorded sharp gains last week on prospects that the US Federal Reserve might not act as aggressively with rate increases as some market experts had expected. However, comments from some Fed officials still signalled further rate increases in the coming period.

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. CAT dropped around 6% on Tuesday after the company reported mixed quarterly results.

The Dow Jones dropped around 402 points to close at 32,396.17 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, lost 0.67% and 0.16%, respectively in the previous session.

U.S. stock futures, however, traded higher this morning on Wednesday, which resulted in some easing of the overall fear level.
At a current reading of 41.0, the index remained in the "fear" zone on Wednesday, following a previous reading of 40.0.

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.