Investor Sentiment Improves With Powell's Speech In Focus

U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the CNN Money Fear and Greed index remaining in the "neutral" zone.

Investor are now awaiting speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium. Powell is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. ET in Wyoming.

Dollar General Corporation DG reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and the company’s board increased the authorization under the share repurchase program by $2.0 billion. Dollar Tree, Inc. DLTR, however, posted weak Q2 sales results.

The Dow rose 0.98% to close at 33,291.78 on Thursday. The S&P 500 gained 1.41%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.67% to settle at 12,639.27 in the previous session as a pullback in Treasury yields provided a boost to technology stocks.

Investors are now awaiting earnings results from JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd JKS, scheduled for release today.

At a current reading of 49.0, the index remained in the "neutral" zone on Friday, following a previous reading of 46.0.

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.