Fear & Greed Index Moves To 'Greed' Zone Following PPI Data; Nasdaq record Sharp Gains

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

U.S. stocks closed mostly higher on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite settling at a record level during the session.

On the economic data front, producer prices in the U.S. rose 0.2% month-over-month in March compared to a 0.6% gain in February. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 0.3%. U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 11,000 to 211,000 in the week ending April 6, compared to market estimates of 215,000.

Constellation Brands Inc STZ reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. Rent the Runway, Inc. RENT shares jumped around 162% on Thursday after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter financial results and issued guidance.

Major sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a mixed note, with information technology, communication services and consumer discretionary stocks recording the biggest gains on Thursday. However, financial and health care stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 2 points to 38,459.08 on Thursday. The S&P 500 gained 0.74% at 5,199.06, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.68% at 16,442.20 during Thursday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Citigroup Inc. C, Wells Fargo & Company WFC and JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM today.

At a current reading of 58.5, the index moved to the "Greed" zone on Thursday, versus a prior reading of 52.

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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