Investor Optimism Improves Slightly Following Fed Minutes

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some improvement in the overall sentiment among US investors.

US stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday as investors digested minutes from the Federal Reserve’s recent meeting.

Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW shares jumped over 12% on Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 results and issued strong guidance.

The Dow closed lower by around 85 points to 33,045.09 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.16% to 3,991.05, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.13% to settle at 11,507.07 during the session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - ADR BABA, Block Inc SQ and Keurig Dr Pepper Inc KDP today.

At a current reading of 63.0, the index remained in the "Greed" zone, compared to a previous reading of 62.0.

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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