Nasdaq Gains Over 100 Points, Posts Weekly Gain: Investor Sentiment Improves Slightly, But Greed Index Remains in ‘Fear’ Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining more than 100 points during the session. However, the Dow Jones index settled lower on Friday, also recording its worst week since March.

Major stock indices also recorded a mixed week, with the Dow falling 1.7% and the S&P 500 losing about 0.1%. However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq recorded a weekly gain of 0.7%.

The Federal Reserve, last week, raised the federal funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4.00%, marking its first rate increase since 2023.

Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid delivered a hawkish signal, defending rate hikes against sticky, broad-based inflation above 3%.

Bitcoin extended a roughly 5% weekly advance after the Securities and Exchange Commission granted an innovation exemption enabling trading in tokenized stocks.

Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) surged over 16% as the most levered listed proxy on the token, and Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (AMEX:BMNR) climbed around 9% on the same digital-asset treasury trade.

On the economic data front, U.S. industrial production came in unchanged in August following a 0.2% gain in July, and down from market estimates of a 0.3% rise. The CB Leading Index declined 0.1% month-over-month in August.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with utilities, materials and real estate stocks recording the biggest losses on Friday. However, information technology and industrials stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 95 points to 51,682.64 on Friday. The S&P 500 gained 0.17% to 7,650.50, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 0.39% at 26,522.54 during Friday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Abivax SA (NASDAQ:ABVX) today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 29, the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 28.

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 equally weighted indicators. The index ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 represents maximum fear and 100 signals maximum greediness.

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