Investor Optimism Improves Slightly Following Inflation Data

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some improvement in overall sentiment among U.S. investors on Wednesday.

Traders assessed the release of inflation data, which showed the headline CPI coming in at 5% year-on-year in March, down from 6% in February. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting showed that officials agreed to keep hiking rates in order to fight inflation.

Sportsman's Warehouse SPWH shares dropped over 14% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company issued weak Q1 guidance and announced CEO Jon Barker will retire.

The Dow closed lower by around 38 points to 33,646.50 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.41% at 4,091.95, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.85% to settle at 11,929.34 during the session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL, Fastenal Company FAST and Infosys Limited INFY today.

U.S. big banks, including, JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, Wells Fargo & Company WFC and Citigroup Inc. C, are all set to report quarterly earnings results on Friday.

At a current reading of 62.0, the index remained in the "Greed" zone, versus a previous reading of 61.0

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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