S&P 500 Notches 5th Consecutive Record Close Following Strong Earnings: Investor Sentiment Edges Lower, But Fear Index Remains In 'Greed' Zone

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a decline 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 notching its 14th record close of the year as optimism over corporate earnings and progress on global trade talks provided support for risk assets.

All three major indices closed the week higher, with the 30-stock Dow gaining around 1.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq adding 1%. The broad market S&P 500 climbed around 1.5% last week.

Phillips 66 PSX reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results. Carter’s, Inc. CRI shares fell around 20% on Friday after the company reported a second-quarter adjusted EPS miss. Additionally, the company suspended its fiscal 2025 guidance and cited tariff impacts on future earnings.

On the economic data front, U.S. durable goods orders fell 9.3% month-over-month to $311.84 billion in June, following a revised 16.5% gain in May.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by 208 points to 44,901.92 on Friday. The S&P 500 gained 0.40% to 6,388.64, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.24% to 21,108.32 during Friday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Enterprise Products Partners L.P. EPD, Nucor Corp NUE and Whirlpool Corp WHR today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 73.9, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 74.4.

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.

Read Next:

Photo via Shutterstock