Investor Sentiment Declines After US Stocks Record Losses For August

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a decline in overall sentiment among U.S. investors on Thursday.

U.S. stocks closed mostly lower, with the Dow Jones falling around 170 points on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite, however, gained for a fifth straight day, but recorded its worst month of the year.

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. CRM gained 3% on Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and issued FY24 guidance above estimates.

On the economic data front, U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 4,000 from the previous week’s revised reading to 228,000 on the week ending Aug. 26, compared to market estimates of 235,000. Core PCE prices in the U.S. rose by 0.2% month-over-month in July.

Majority of sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with health care and utilities stocks recording the biggest losses on Thursday. However, consumer discretionary and information technology bucked the overall market trend, closing higher during the session.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 168 points to 34,721.91 on Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 0.16% at 4,507.66, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.11% at 14,034.97 during the session. The S&P index fell around 1.77%, while the Nasdaq lost 2.17% last month. The 30-stock index fell around 2.36% in August.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Dingdong (Cayman) Limited DDL today.

At a current reading of 53.4, the index remained in the "Neutral" zone on Thursday, compared to a previous reading of 53.7.

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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