Nasdaq Settles Higher As Nvidia Records Best Session Since February: Fear & Greed Index Now In 'Neutral' Zone As Investor Sentiment Improves

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some improvement in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the “Neutral” zone on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates, as widely expected.

The Nasdaq Composite, however, ended July on a negative note, falling around 0.8%. The S&P 500 gained 1.1% last month, while the Dow added 4.4% to record its best month since December.

On the economic data front, U.S. pending home sales rose by 4.8% from the prior month in June compared to a revised contraction of 1.9%. Private businesses in the U.S. added 122,000 workers to their payrolls in July, versus a revised 155,000 in June.

Nvidia NVDA shares jumped 12.8% on Wednesday, with the stock recording its best session since Feb. 22.

Microsoft Corporation MSFT reported better-than-expected earnings and sales results for its fourth quarter on Tuesday. Boeing Co BA shares gained 2% on Wednesday after the company reported second-quarter 2024 results and named Kelly Ortberg its new President and CEO, effective Aug. 8, 2024.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with communication services, consumer discretionary and information technology stocks recording the biggest gains on Wednesday. However, health care and real estate stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 99 points to 40,842.79 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 1.58% at 5,522.30, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.64% at 17,599.40 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, Intel Corporation INTC, and Apple Inc. AAPL today.

At a current reading of 52.4, the index remained in the “Neutral” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior 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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