Investor Optimism Improves, Dow Rises For 6th Straight Session

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

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index recording gains for the sixth consecutive session.

Uber Technologies, Inc. UBER shares tumbled 5.7% on Wednesday following worse-than-expected first-quarter financial results. Tesla, Inc TSLA shares fell 1.7% following reports that U.S. prosecutors are looking into whether Tesla misled investors and customers about its self-driving technology.

On the economic data front, U.S. wholesale inventories fell by 0.4% month-over-month in March compared to a revised 0.2% increase in the previous month.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with materials, real estate and consumer discretionary stocks recording the biggest losses on Wednesday. However, utilities and financials stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 172 points to 39,056.39 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.01% at 5,187.67, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.18% at 16,302.76 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from H&R Block, Inc. HRB, US Foods Holding Corp. USFD, and Roblox Corporation RBLX today.

At a current reading of 39.4, the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 37.9.

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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