Dow Hits Record High, S&P 500 Gains For 4th Consecutive Month: Fear Index In 'Greed' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones index notching a new record high during the session.

The S&P 500 gained 2.3% during August, recording its fourth consecutive winning month. The Dow rose around 1.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded a 0.7% gain for the period.

Shares of Elastic N.V. ESTC dipped over 26% on Friday after the company reported first-quarter financial results and issued second-quarter revenue guidance below estimates. MongoDB, Inc. MDB shares surged more than 18% after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and issued strong guidance on Thursday.

On the economic data front, U.S. personal income increased by 0.3% from the prior month to $24.015 trillion in July, while personal spending rose 0.5% from the prior month. The US core PCE price index increased by 0.2% from the earlier month in July, which is in line with market estimates and followed a 0.2% rise in June. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment was revised higher to 67.9 in August versus a preliminary level of 67.8.

All sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with consumer discretionary, information technology, and industrials stocks recording the biggest gains on Friday.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 228 points to 41,563.08 on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 1.01% to 5,648.40, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.13% at 17,713.62 during Friday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from HealthEquity, Inc. HQY, Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. SPWH, and Zscaler, Inc. ZS today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 63.4, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 60.1.

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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