S&P Settles At Record High As Apple, Amazon Shares Surge: Investor Optimism Improves Ahead Of Inflation Data

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

U.S. stocks settled higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 settling at record levels during the session. Tech stocks were among the top gainers, with shares of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Apple Inc. AAPL adding more than 1% on Wednesday.

Investors digested the minutes from the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which revealed extensive debate over whether to cut rates by 25 or 50 basis points. Ultimately, the committee opted for the larger 50-basis-point cut, but the discussion underscored the ongoing uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s next moves.

On the economic data front, U.S. wholesale inventories increased by 0.1% month-over-month to $904.8 billion in August, compared to the preliminary estimate of a 0.2% gain and versus a revised 0.2% rise in the previous month.

Data on Consumer Price Index inflation will be released on Thursday.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with healthcare, information technology, and industrials stocks recording the biggest gains on Wednesday. However, utilities and communication services stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 432 points to 42,512.00 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.71% to 5,792.04, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.60% at 18,291.62 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL, Domino’s Pizza, Inc. DPZ and Tilray Brands, Inc. TLRY today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 72.2, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 70.6.

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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