Investor Optimism Improves Following Economic Reports; S&P 500 Settles At Record High

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further improvement in the overall market sentiment, with the index moving to the "Extreme Greed" zone on Thursday.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 settling at a fresh record high.

On the economic data front, U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 8,000 from the previous week’s revised reading to 212,000 during the period ending Feb. 9, versus market expectations of 220,000. U.S. retail sales fell 0.8% month-over-month in January compared to a revised 0.4% increase in December and versus market estimates of a 0.1% fall. Industrial production in the U.S. fell by 0.1% from the prior month in January.

Shares of US Foods Holding Corp. USFD gained more than 3% on Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue results and issued FY24 net sales guidance above estimates. Herbalife Ltd. HLF shares fell around 32% following weak quarterly earnings.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with energy, real estate and materials stocks recording the biggest gains on Thursday. However, information technology stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 349 points to 38,773.12 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.58% at 5,029.73, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.30% at 15,906.17 during Thursday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from PPL Corporation PPL, Portland General Electric Company POR, TreeHouse Foods, Inc. THS and Cinemark Holdings, Inc. CNK today.

At a current reading of 76.3, the index moved to the "Extreme Greed" zone on Thursday versus a prior reading of 74.7.

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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