S&P 500 Ends 4-Week Losing Streak: Investor Fear Eases Slightly, But Greed Index Remains In 'Extreme Fear' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 recording slight gains during the session. The broad-market S&P 500 also reported gains last week after recording losses for four straight weeks. The Nasdaq gained 0.2%, while the Dow added 1.2% during the week.

FedEx Inc. FDX shares dipped more than 6% on Friday after the company's third-quarter adjusted EPS results missed analysts’ expectations. Shares of Nike Inc. NKE fell more than 5% on Friday after the company reported third-quarter financial results.

Shares of Micron Technology Inc MU fell around 8% Friday after the company reported second-quarter financial results.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 32 points to 41,985.35 on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.08% to 5,667.56, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.52% at 17,784.05 during Friday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from KB Home KBH, Intuitive Machines Inc. LUNR, and Enerpac Tool Group Corp. EPAC today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 22.6, the index remained in the “Extreme Fear” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 22.2.

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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