S&P 500 Gains For Fifth Session: 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 Friday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 recording gains for the fifth straight session and also notching weekly gains. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 5.3%, while the Dow added 3.4%. The Nasdaq Composite was the standout performer, surging 7.2% last week.

Tech stocks also recorded strong gains last week, with shares of Nvidia Corp. NVDA jumping around 16% and Meta Platforms Inc. META gaining 8%. Shares of Apple Inc. AAPL, meanwhile, gained around 6% last week.

On the economic data front, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment for the US dipped to 50.8 in May compared to April’s reading of 52.2 and down from market estimates of 53.4. U.S. import prices rose by 0.1% month-over-month in April compared to a revised 0.4% decline in the previous month. U.S. export prices increased 0.1% month-over-month in April, versus market estimates of a 0.5% fall.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 332 points to 42,654.74 on Friday. The S&P 500 gained 0.70% to 5,958.38, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.52% to 19,211.10 during Friday's session.

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Investors are awaiting earnings results from Global Ship Lease Inc. GSL, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. ZIM, and Trip.com Group Ltd. TCOM today.

At a current reading of 70.6, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 69.2.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

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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