Investor Sentiment Drops Ahead Of US Jobs Report

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed slight easing in overall market sentiment on Thursday after the Dow Jones relinquished some of the sharp gains recorded on Wednesday.

The Dow gained more than 700 points on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested the central bank could begin easing back on its interest rate hikes starting as early as next month.

Investors were awaiting economic data on non-farm payrolls and unemployment rate to get some more insights into the labor market.

Shares of Costco Wholesale COST dropped around 6.6% on Thursday after the company reported November sales results.

The Dow dropped around 195 points to close at 34,395.01 on Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 0.09% to 4,076.57, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.13% to settle at 11,482.45 in the previous session.

Genesco Inc. GCO, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. CBRL and Kirkland's, Inc. KIRK are set to report quarterly earnings today.

At a current reading of 69.0, the index remained in the "Greed" zone, compared to a previous reading of 70.0.

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.