Dow Tumbles 250 Points As Investors Brace For High-Stakes Presidential Election: Greed Index Enters 'Fear' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones index falling more than 250 points as investors braced for the high-stakes presidential election.

On the economic data front, U.S. factory orders declined by 0.5% from the previous month to $584.2 billion in September compared to a revised 0.8% fall in August.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. YUMC shares gained more than 7% on Monday after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter EPS and revenue.

Shares of Nvidia Corp. NVDA have gained around 182% year-to-date, while Intel Corp. INTC has lost over half its value this year.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 258 points to 41,794.60 on Monday. The S&P 500 fell 0.28% to 5,712.69, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.33% to close at 18,179.98 during Monday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Archer-Daniels-Midland Company ADM, Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM and Cummins Inc. CMI today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 42.9, the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Monday, versus a prior reading of 44.5.

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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