Fear & Greed Index Moves To 'Neutral' Zone; US Stocks Settle Higher

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index moved to the "Neutral" zone on Thursday.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq remained under pressure for most of the session, but turned higher during the afternoon session after Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic argued for quarter-point hikes and said he preferred a "slow and steady" course of action for the central bank.

US jobless claims fell by 2,000 from the prior week to 190,000 for the week ending Feb. 25, compared to market estimates of 195,000.

Salesforce, Inc. CRM shares jumped 11.5% on Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 results and issued strong guidance.

The Dow closed higher by around 342 points to 33,003.57 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.76% to 3,981.35, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.73% to settle at 11,462.98 during the session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Hibbett, Inc. HIBB and inTEST Corporation INTT today.

At a current reading of 49.0, the index moved to the "Neutral" zone, compared to a previous reading of 56.0.

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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