Investor Sentiment Improves Ahead Of Earnings Results

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some improvement in the investor sentiment.

Markets monitored earnings reports from several companies. Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. VZ dropped 4.5% on Friday after the company reported Q3 earnings results. American Express Company AXP shares also settled lower after posting Q3 earnings.

The Dow jumped 2.47% to close at 31,082.56 on Friday, while the S&P 500 rose 2.37% to 3,752.75. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.31% to settle at 10,859.72 in the previous session, following gains in Microsoft Corporation MSFT, Apple Inc. AAPL and Tesla, Inc. TSLA shares.

Investors are now awaiting earnings reports from Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. SCHN, Discover Financial Services DFS, Packaging Corporation of America PKG and Crown Holdings, Inc. CCK.

At a current reading of 47.0, the index moved to the "Neutral" zone, 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.