Investor Optimism Improves Further Ahead Of Inflation Data; Dow Gains For Third Straight Day

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further improvement in overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Monday.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones index recording its highest close since Jan. 2022.

Data on consumer price index for November will be released on Tuesday, while the producer price index is scheduled for release on Wednesday.

Macy's, Inc. M shares jumped over 19% on Monday following a report suggesting an investor group made a $5.8 billion buyout offer for the company. Shares of The Cigna Group CI climbed more than 16% on Monday after the company reportedly ended its attempt to negotiate an acquisition deal with rival Humana Inc HUM after the pair disagreed on price terms.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with consumer staples and industrials stocks recording the biggest gains on Monday. However, communication services stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 157 points to 36,404.93 on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.39% at 4,622.44, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.20% at 14,432.49 during Monday’s session.

All the major indices closed last week on a positive note, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.2% and the Dow closing slightly higher last week.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Johnson Controls International plc JCI, EMCORE Corporation EMKR and Champions Oncology, Inc. CSBR today.

At a current reading of 67.7, the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Monday, versus a prior reading of 67.1.

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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