Investor Sentiment Improves, But Dow Falls Over 100 Points

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

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Monday, with the Dow Jones index falling more than 100 points during the session following weak U.S. manufacturing data.

On the economic data front, U.S. construction spending declined by 0.1% month-over-month to an annual rate of $2,099 billion in April compared to a 0.2% decline in the previous month and versus market estimates of a 0.2% increase. The ISM manufacturing PMI fell to 48.7 in May versus 49.2 in April, and market expectations of 49.6.

U.S. major indices notched gains in May. The Dow gained 2.3% last month, while the S&P 500 added 4.8% in May.

Shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) gained around 5% on Monday after the company unveiled its new AI chips. GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) shares jumped 21% after Roaring Kitty on a Reddit post, shared his position on the stock.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 115 points to 38,571.03 on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.11% at 5,283.40, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.56% at 16,828.67 during Monday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI), Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) today.

At a current reading of 51.1, the index was in the “Neutral” zone on Monday, versus a prior reading of 48.9.

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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