Dow Tumbles Over 400 Points; Investor Optimism Declines

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a decline in the overall sentiment among US investors.

US stocks recorded losses on Thursday as investors assessed the recent data, which showed producer prices for final demand increasing 0.7% month-over-month in January, the most in seven months. US jobless claims also dropped to 194,000 in the week ending Feb. 11, down from the revised level of 195,000 in the prior week.

Shares of Tesla Inc TSLA dropped 5.7% on Thursday and lost another 1.9% in after-hours trading. The company will recall over 362,000 U.S. vehicles to update its full self-driving (FSD) Beta software after regulators said on Thursday the driver assistance system did not adequately comply with traffic safety laws and may cause crashes, according to a Reuters report.

The Dow closed lower by around 431 points to 33,696.85 on Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 1.38% to 4,090.41, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.78% to settle at 11,855.83 during the session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from AutoNation Inc AN,
Deere & Company DE and PPL Corp PPL today.

At a current reading of 69.0, the index remained in the "Greed" zone, compared to a previous reading of 74.0.

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.

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