Investor Sentiment Increases As S&P 500 Reaches 2023 Record

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an improvement in overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Friday.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 index jumping to a new closing high for 2023.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell underscored that it’s “premature” to declare the Fed’s efforts as sufficiently restrictive, highlighting a readiness to adjust policies further if needed.

On the economic data front, construction spending in the U.S. increased by 0.6% month-over-month to an annual rate of $2,027.1 billion in October. The ISM manufacturing PMI came in unchanged at 46.7 in November.

Shares of Elastic N.V. ESTC jumped 37% on Friday after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and issued guidance. UiPath Inc. PATH shares gained around 27% after the company reported upbeat third-quarter financial results.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 295 points to 36,245.50 on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.59% at 4,594.63, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.55% at 14,305.03 during Friday’s session.

The Dow gained around 8.9% in November, while the S&P 500 gained 8.9% last month.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Science Applications International Corporation SAIC, Culp, Inc CULP, and GitLab Inc. GTLB today.

At a current reading of 66.9, the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 65.5.

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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