S&P 500 Settles At Record High Ahead Of Fed Minutes: Investor Sentiment Improves, Fear & Greed Index Moves To 'Neutral' Zone

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an improvement in the overall market sentiment, while the index moved to the “Neutral” zone on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high level during the session as investors monitored recent geopolitical developments and anticipated the release of the latest FOMC minutes on Wednesday.

Equity markets recorded gains last week, with the S&P 500 gaining around 1.5% and the Dow rising 0.6%. The Nasdaq gained 2.6% during the week.

Shares of Fluor Corp. FLR fell more than 8% on Tuesday after the company missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates.

On the economic data front, the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index rose by 18.3 points to a reading of +5.7 in February, topping market estimates of -1.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with energy, materials, and utilities stocks recording gains on Tuesday. However, communication services and consumer discretionary stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 10 points to 44,556.34 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.24% to 6,129.58, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.07% at 20,041.26 during Tuesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Analog Devices Inc. ADI, Etsy Inc. ETSY, and Carvana Co. CVNA today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 48.9, the index moved to the “Neutral” zone on Tuesday, versus a prior reading of 44.

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.

Read Next: