Dow Settles Lower, Records Weekly Loss: Fear Index In 'Greed' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled mostly lower on Friday, with the Dow Jones index falling around 0.2% during the session. Stocks also recorded losses last week, with the S&P 500 falling 0.4% and the Dow losing 0.3%. The Nasdaq also declined 0.7% on the week.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) reported upbeat earnings for the fourth quarter on Friday. Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) jumped around 8%, leading gains on the Nasdaq 100 after board member Mark Liu purchased $7.8 million worth of company shares.

On the economic data front, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business activity index climbed to -16.1 in January from -20.0 in the prior month. U.S. industrial production increased 0.4% month-over-month in December, the same as in the previous month and higher than market estimates of 0.1%.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 83 points to 49,359.33 on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 0.06% to 6,940.01, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.06% at 23,515.39 during Friday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from 3M Co. (NYSE:MMM), D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI) and Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) today.

What Is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 62, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 61.

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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