Markets Turn More Bullish; Dow Gains For Ninth Straight Day

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

U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones index recording gains for the ninth straight session. The Nasdaq Composite settled above the 15,000 mark for the first time since Jan. 2022.

On the economic data front, building permits in the U.S. declined by 2.5% to an annual rate of 1.460 million in November, down from market estimates of 1.470 million. Housing starts surged 14.8% month-over-month to an annualized 1.56 million in November, compared to market estimates of 1.36 million.

Accenture Plc ACN posted upbeat earnings for its first quarter, but issued weak sales outlook. Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc FDS fell over 2% on Tuesday after the company reported earnings results for its first quarter.

All sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with energy, communication services and materials stocks recording the biggest gains on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 252 points to 37,557.92 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.59% at 4,768.37, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.66% at 15,003.22 during Tuesday’s session.

The Dow is higher by around 4.5% for the month, while the S&P 500 has added 4.4% during the period.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Micron Technology, Inc. MU, Winnebago Industries, Inc. WGO and General Mills, Inc. GIS today.

At a current reading of 80.1, the index remained in the "Extreme Greed" zone on Tuesday, versus a prior reading of 77.6.

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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