Investor Fear Increases Ahead Of Third-Quarter Earnings Season

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further increase in the fear level among investors after the Nasdaq Composite index tumbled to the weakest level in two years on Monday amid a decline in semiconductor stocks.

The US announced export controls restricting China's ability to purchase certain chips, which exerted pressure on stocks including, NVIDIA Corporation NVDA and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD.

Investors also remained cautious ahead of the start of earnings season and inflation data, scheduled for release this week. JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, Morgan Stanley MS Wells Fargo & Company WFC, and Citigroup Inc. C will report earnings on Friday.

The Dow fell 0.32% to close at 29,202.88 on Monday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.75% to 3,612.39. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.04% to settle at 10,542.10 in the previous session.

Investors are now awaiting earnings results from AZZ Inc. AZZ and VOXX International Corporation VOXX, scheduled for release today.

At a current reading of 20.0, the index remained in the "extreme fear" zone, following a previous reading of 22.0.

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.