Dow, S&P 500 Hit New Highs: Investor Sentiment Improves, Fear & Greed Index Moves To 'Greed' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled higher on Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 0.3% during the session. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones index also surged to new all-time highs.

The S&P 500 gained 1% last week, while the Dow and Nasdaq surged 2.3% and 1.9%, respectively.

Gold and silver surged to fresh record highs Monday as investors reassessed the Federal Reserve’s independence fears amid a new political escalation. The move followed reports that the Department of Justice opened a criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over renovation costs at the Fed’s headquarters.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with materials, consumer staples and industrials stocks recording the biggest gains on Monday. However, energy and financial stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 86 points to 49,590.20 on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.16% to 6,977.27, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.26% at 23,733.90 during Monday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL), JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK) today.

At a current reading of 55.9, the index moved to the “Greed” zone on Monday, versus a prior reading of 53.5.

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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