Investor Optimism Improves After Dow Notches Best Month Since January

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further increase in overall sentiment among U.S. investors.

The Dow Jones jumped more than 250 points on Friday, recording its best month since January. The S&P 500 also recorded a monthly gain of 1.5%, gaining for the second straight month.

Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN dropped around 4% on Friday despite topping market expectations for the quarter. Snap Inc. SNAP shares tumbled 17% following downbeat quarterly sales.

Data released Friday showed the personal consumption expenditures price index increasing 0.3% in March, in-line with market estimates.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 272 points to 34,098.16 on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.83% at 4,169.48, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.69% to settle at 12,226.58 during the session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Global Payments Inc. GPN, ON Semiconductor Corporation ON and MGM Resorts International MGM today.

At a current reading of 60.0, the index remained in the "Greed" zone, versus a previous reading of 59.0

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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