Dow Surges Over 250 Points Ahead Of Alphabet, Pfizer Earnings: Investor Sentiment Improves, Fear Index Remains In 'Greed' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones index surging more than 250 points ahead of earnings from megacap technology companies.

Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 ended a six-week winning streak, falling around 1% and 2.7%, respectively. The Nasdaq recorded gains for the seventh straight week, gaining nearly 0.2% last week.

Shares of Koninklijke Philips NV PHG tumbled around 16% on Monday after the company reported weak third-quarter earnings results.

On the economic data front, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' general business activity index for manufacturing in Texas rose to -3 in October compared to a reading of -9 in September.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with financials, materials, and utilities stocks recording the biggest gains on Monday. However, information technology and energy stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 273 points to 42,387.57 on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.27% to 5,823.52, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.26% to close at 18,567.19 during Monday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Pfizer Inc. PFE, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG, Phillips 66 PSX, and McDonald’s Corporation MCD today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 61.7, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Monday, versus a prior reading of 60.8.

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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