Investor Optimism Improves Slightly As Investors Assess Earnings Reports

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some improvement in the overall market sentiment, but the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 closing slightly higher during the session.

On the economic data front, new orders for manufactured durable goods rose by 2.6% month-over-month in March compared to a revised 0.7% gain in February.

Tesla, Inc. TSLA shares jumped 12% on Wednesday following first-quarter earnings. Additionally, B of A Securities upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy. Boeing BA shares fell around 2.9% on Wednesday following first-quarter financial results.

As far as the earnings season is concerned, over 25% of the S&P 500 companies have released quarterly results so far, with around 79% of those exceeding market estimates.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with consumer staples, consumer discretionary and utilities stocks recording the biggest gains on Wednesday. However, industrials and health care stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 43 points to 38,460.92 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.02% at 5,071.63, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.10% at 15,712.75   during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Caterpillar Inc. CAT, Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL, Intel Corporation INTC and Microsoft Corporation MSFT today.

At a current reading of 40.9, the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 39.9.

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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