Fear Among US Investors Is Increasing, Here's Why

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a rise in the fear level after the S&P 500 recorded a new low for 2022.

Shares of Apple Inc. AAPL tumbled around 4.9% on Thursday after B of A Securities downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral and lowered its price target from $185 to $160.

A better-than-expected report on jobless claims also didn’t help market sentiment, as initial jobless claims declined by 16,000 to 193,000 in the week ended September 24, recording the lowest since the end of April.

The Dow fell 1.54% to close at 29,225.61 on Thursday, while the S&P 500 declined 2.11% to 3,640.47, notching a new closing low for the year. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.84% to settle at 10,737.51 in the previous session.

US major averages are on pace to record losses for the month, with the Dow and S&P down around 7.3% and 7.9%, respectively in September.

Investors are now awaiting earnings results from Carnival Corporation CCL and CIRCOR International, Inc. CIR, scheduled for release today.

At a current reading of 16.0, the index remained in the "extreme fear" zone, following a previous reading of 18.0.

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.