Dow Tumbles Over 700 Points Following Weak Economic Data: Investor Sentiment Declines, Greed Index Moves To 'Fear' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled lower on Friday, with the Dow Jones index dipping more than 700 points during the session.

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 64.7 in January, a decline of 10% and a steeper drop than expected. The 5-year inflation outlook in the survey is the highest since 1995 at 3.5%. Existing home sales sank by 4.9% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.08 million in January, the sharpest decline in seven months, according to Trading Economics.

February’s flash S&P Global PMIs released Friday morning revealed a sharp, unexpected drop in services and raised concerns about the health of the private sector.

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH slumped around 7% on Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported the Department of Justice launched an investigation into the company's Medicare billing practices.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with information technology, consumer discretionary, and industrials stocks recording losses on Friday. However, consumer staples stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 749 points to 43,428.02 on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 1.71% to 6,013.13, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.20% at 19,524.01 during Friday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Owens Corning OC, Domino’s Pizza Inc. DPZ, and Westlake Corp. WLK today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 35.4, the index moved to the “Fear” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 45.1.

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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