Fear Continues To Grip Markets As S&P 500 Settles Below 4,200

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed growth in the overall fear level, remaining in the "Fear" zone on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 closing the session below the 4,200 level.

Alphabet Inc. GOOGL shares tumbled 9.5% on Wednesday after the company reported third-quarter financial results. Microsoft Corporation MSFT shares gained 3% after the company posted stronger-than-expected results for its fiscal first quarter.

As far as the earnings season is concerned, around 29% of the S&P 500 companies have released quarterly results so far, with around 78% exceeding market estimates.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to around 4.95% during Wednesday’s session.

On the economic data front, U.S. new home sales climbed by 12.3% to an annualized rate of 759,000 in September versus a revised 676,000 in the prior month.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 105 points to 33,035.93 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 1.43% at 4,186.77, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.43% at 12,821.22 during Wednesday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company BMY, Mastercard Incorporated MA, Ford Motor Company F, and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN today.

At a current reading of 29.8, the index remained in the "Fear" zone on Wednesday, compared to a previous reading of 35.2.

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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