Why Fear Level Among US Investors Is Increasing

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an increase in the fear level among US investors following a decline on the Wall Street.

The Dow Jones jumped over 500 points on Wednesday following strong earnings reports from NIKE, Inc. NKE and FedEx Corporation FDX, along with an upbeat report on consumer sentiment.

However, the sell-off returned on Thursday as markets remained concerned that major central banks around the world will continue tightening their monetary policies, increasing prospects of recession.

Tesla, Inc. TSLA shares dropped around 8.9% on Thursday after the company increased the discount on all Model 3 and Model Y vehicles delivered in the U.S. in December from $3,750 to $7,500, adding to recent demand concerns.

The Dow closed lower by around 349 points to 33,027.49 on Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 1.45% to 3,822.39, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.18% to settle at 10,476.12 in the previous session.

Eve Holding, Inc. EVEX is set to report quarterly earnings today.

At a current reading of 35.0, the index remained in the "Fear" zone, compared to a previous reading of 38.0.

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.

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