Investor Fear Eases As US Stocks Rise Following Economic Reports

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

U.S. stocks closed higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining over 100 points on Thursday.

Investors await the release of the personal consumption expenditures price index, which is Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, on Friday.

On the economic data front, U.S. jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 204,000 in the week ending Sept. 23, versus market expectations of 215,000. The U.S. economy expanded at an annualized rate of 2.1% during the second quarter, unchanged versus the prior estimate, and versus revised 2.2% expansion in the first quarter.

Shares of Accenture plc ACN fell over 4% on Thursday after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter financial results and issued weak FY24 adjusted EPS guidance. CarMax Inc KMX shares fell 13% after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with communication services and materials stocks recording the biggest gains on Thursday. However, utilities stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 116 points to 33,666.34 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.59% at 4,299.70, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.83% at 13,201.28 during Thursday’s session.

The Dow is slated to end the month down 3% and the quarter off by 2%. The S&P 500 is on course to end lower by 4.6% in September and 3.4% lower for the quarter.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Carnival Corporation CC and Genius Group Limited GNS today.

At a current reading of 29.5, the index moved to the "Fear" zone on Thursday, compared to a previous reading of 24.

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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