Investor Fear Eases As Nasdaq Jumps Over 400 Points

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some easing in the overall fear level in the US equity markets, after the Wall Street recorded sharp gains on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 bps during its recent meeting in order to combat the surging inflation level.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. GOOGL and Microsoft Corporation MSFT jumped 7.7% and 6.7%, respectively on Wednesday despite both companies reporting downbeat earnings results for their latest quarter.

Apple Inc. AAPL and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN are all set to release earnings after the closing bell today.

Market sentiment was also boosted by strong economic data released on Wednesday. The goods gap in the US shrank to $98.2 billion in June from a revised $104 billion in May, while U.S. durable goods orders increased 1.9% from a month ago in June.

Investors are now awaiting economic reports on initial jobless claims and GDP growth, due to be released today.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 4.06% to close at 12,032.42 on Wednesday. The Dow Jones and S&P 500, meanwhile, added 1.37% and 2.62%, respectively in the previous session.

At a current reading of 38.0, the index remained in the "fear" zone on Thursday, following a previous reading of 35.0.