Traders More Optimistic After Better-Than-Expected Jobs Data

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further rise in optimism level in U.S. stock markets.

U.S. stocks closed mixed on Friday despite the country’s economy adding higher-than-expected jobs for the month of July. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 528,000 in July, crushing the estimates of 258,000. The unemployment rate dropped from 3.6% to 3.5%, returning to its pre-COVID pandemic level.

The S&P 500 index settled lower on Friday, following a decline in shares of Tesla, Inc. TSLA and other tech-related stocks.

U.S. Treasury yields moved higher as strong nonfarm payrolls data increased prospects of a 75-basis-point rate increase in September. Bank stocks, as a result, recorded gains, with shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM gaining 3% on Friday.

The Dow Jones climbed around 78 points to close at 32,803.47 on Friday. The S&P 500 lost 0.16%, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.50% in the previous session.

At a current reading of 50.0, the index inched closer to the "greed" level, but remained in the "neutral" zone on Monday, following a previous reading of 47.0.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

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.