S&P 500 Settles Higher Ahead Of Tariff Day: Greed Index Remains In 'Extreme Fear' Zone

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed almost no change in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the “Extreme Fear” zone on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing slightly higher during the session as investors awaited details on the tariff plans expected from the Trump administration on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a Washington Post report suggested the administration is considering a sweeping 20% tariff on most of the $3 trillion in annual imports.

The S&P 500 declined 5.8% in March, recording its biggest monthly decline since December 2022. The Nasdaq dipped 8.2%, while the Dow tumbled 4.2% last month. For the quarter, the S&P 500 dropped, while the Nasdaq dipped 10.4%. The Dow lost 1.3% during the first three months of the year.

On the economic data front, the ISM manufacturing PMI declined to 49 in March compared to a reading of 50.3 in February, and also missing market estimates of 49.5. U.S. construction spending increased 0.7% month-over-month in February following a revised 0.5% fall in January. The number of job openings fell by 194,000 to 7.568 million in February compared to a revised 7.762 million in the previous month.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with consumer discretionary, communication services, and information technology stocks recording the biggest gains on Tuesday. However, health care and financial stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 12 points to 41,989.96 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.38% to 5,633.07, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.87% to 17,449.89 during Tuesday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from UniFirst Corp. UNF, BlackBerry Ltd. BB, and RH RH today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 19.3, the index remained in the “Extreme Fear” zone on Tuesday, versus a prior reading of 19.3.

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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