S&P 500 Settles At Record High As Delta Air Lines Stock Surges: Fear & Greed Index Remains In 'Extreme Greed' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 closing at an all-time high level during the session. A day earlier, President Donald Trump announced sweeping 50% tariffs on imports from Brazil and confirmed the 50% tariff on copper, effective Aug. 1.

Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL surged around 12% on Thursday after posting second-quarter results that topped both earnings and revenue expectations, while indicating a strong demand outlook, sparking a broad rally across the airline sector.

On the economic data front, the U.S. labor market continued to show resilience as initial jobless claims dropped to 237,000 last week, beating forecasts. However, continuing claims rose to 1.965 million, the highest level since 2021.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by 192 points to 44,650.64 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.27% to 6,280.46, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.09% to 20,630.66 during Thursday's session.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 76.5, the index remained in the “Extreme Greed” zone on Thursday, versus a prior reading of 75.2.

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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