Investor Sentiment Improves After S&P 500 Closes Sharply Higher

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

U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 recording its best session since June 2.

Best Buy Co., Inc. BBY shares gained 3.9% on Tuesday after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter results. AT&T Inc. T shares gained 3.9% after Citigroup upgraded the stock Neutral to Buy.

All the major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with communication services, consumer discretionary and information technology stocks recording the biggest gains on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 293 points to 34,852.67 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 1.45% at 4,497.63, while the Nasdaq Composite added 1.74% at 13,943.76 during the session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Patterson Companies, Inc. PDCO, Salesforce, Inc. CRM and Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE: BF-B) today.

At a current reading of 50.3, the index remained in the "Neutral" zone on Tuesday, compared to a previous reading of 48.5.

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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