Dow Records Worst Session In Over A Month, Apple, Nvidia Drag Nasdaq Down: Fear Index Remains In 'Greed' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index recording its worst session in over a month. Both the Dow and S&P 500 logged losses for the third straight session.

Megacap stocks moved lower on Wednesday, with Apple Inc. AAPL and NVIDIA Corp. NVDA losing more than 2% during the session.

McDonald’s Corporation MCD shares fell more than 5% on Wednesday following CDC reports of an E. coli outbreak linked to quarter pounders. AT&T Inc T reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. Boeing Co BA reported a loss for the third quarter on Wednesday.

On the economic data front, U.S. existing home sales declined 1% from the previous month to an annualized rate of 3.84 million in September.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 410 points to 42,514.95 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.92% to 5,797.42, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.60% to close at 18,276.65 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Dow Inc. DOW, Honeywell International Inc. HON, and American Airlines Group Inc. AAL today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 63.1, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 67.9.

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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