S&P 500 Gains For 3rd Session: Investor Sentiment Improves, But Greed Index Remains In 'Fear' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 recording gains for a third consecutive session.

On Thursday, Bristol Myers Squibb & Co. BMY posted better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter but issued a weak outlook. Skyworks Solutions Inc. SWKS shares dipped around 25% on Thursday after the company issued second-quarter adjusted EPS guidance below estimates.

Multiple analysts downgraded the stock on Thursday. Shares of Ford Motor Co. F fell more than 7% after the company said that it expects $5 billion to $5.5 billion in losses in its EV segment this year, in line with the loss recorded last year.

On the economic data front, U.S. initial jobless claims increased by 11,000 from the previous week to 219,000 in the final week of January, compared to market estimates of 213,000. U.S. unit labor costs rose 3.0% in the fourth quarter following a 0.5% gain in the third quarter. U.S. nonfarm business sector labor productivity rose by 1.2% in the fourth quarter compared to a revised gain of 2.3% in the previous quarter.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with consumer staples, information technology, and financial stocks recording gains on Thursday. However, energy and healthcare stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by over 125 points to 44,747.63 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.36% to 6,083.57, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.51% to 19,791.99 during Thursday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Newell Brands Inc. NWL, Flowers Foods, Inc. FLO, and Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. PAA today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 41.1, the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Thursday, versus a prior reading of 40.6.

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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