Investor Sentiment Improves Further, Nasdaq Hits New High

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

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite surging to an all-time high during the session. On a weekly basis, the Nasdaq gained 1.74%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.95%.

NVIDIA Corporation NVDA shares gained 4%, while Meta Platforms, Inc. META added 2.5% on Friday. Shares of Dell Technologies Inc. DELL jumped around 32% on Friday after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and increased its annual cash dividend by 20%.

On the economic data front, the ISM manufacturing PMI declined to 47.8 in February from 49.1 a month ago, compared to market estimates of 49.5. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment for the U.S. fell to 76.9 in February versus a preliminary reading of 79.6 and versus January’s reading of 79.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 91 points to 39,087.38 on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.80% at 5,137.08, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.14% at 16,274.94 during Friday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Global Ship Lease, Inc. GSL, Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. CVGI, AeroVironment, Inc. AVAV, and Stitch Fix, Inc. SFIX today.

At a current reading of 77.3, the index remained in the "Extreme Greed" zone on Friday versus a prior reading of 76.9.

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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