Fear Among US Investors Is Decreasing, Here's Why

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further easing in the fear level among US investors.

US stocks moved lower in choppy trading on Thursday as investors monitored several major earnings reports. Although stocks have dropped for two sessions in a row, but the major indices are still up over 2% for the week.

Shares of AT&T T and IBM IBM gained on Thursday after topping expectations on the top and bottom lines.

The Dow fell 0.30% to close at 30,333.59 on Thursday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.80% to 3,665.78. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.61% to settle at 10,614.84 in the previous session, amid a decline in Microsoft Corporation MSFT and Tesla, Inc. TSLA shares.

Investors are now awaiting earnings reports from American Express Company AXP, Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, Schlumberger Limited SLB and HCA Healthcare, Inc. HCA.

At a current reading of 40.0, the index remained in the "fear" zone, following a previous reading of 36.0.

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.