Investor Optimism Falls After Fed Keeps Rates Steady

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a slight decline in overall sentiment among U.S. investors on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve maintained the federal funds rate within the 5.25% to 5.5% range at its September meeting. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, expressed that a majority of committee members view another rate increase as appropriate during the remaining two Federal Open Market Committee meetings.

General Mills Inc GIS reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.

Majority of sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with communication services and information technology stocks recording the biggest losses on Wednesday. However, consumer staples, utilities and real estate stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing slightly higher during the session.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 77 points to 34,440.88 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.94% at 4,402.20, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.53% at 13,469.13 during the session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from FactSet Research Systems Inc. FDS, Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI and Scholastic Corporation SCHL today.

At a current reading of 47.3, the index remained in the "Neutral" zone on Wednesday, compared to a previous reading of 47.9.

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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