Investor Sentiment Improves, But Dow Falls Over 200 Points
The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some improvement in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Monday.
U.S. stocks closed mostly lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones index closing lower by more than 200 points during the session.
The headline annual inflation rate, as measured by personal consumption expenditures (PCE), rose to 2.5% in February as expected, up from 2.4% in January as personal spending came in unexpectedly high. While the monthly inflation rate, according to the Fed’s favored gauge of price increases, dipped from 0.4% to 0.3%, personal spending rose by 0.8% to $145.5 billion, more than the 0.5% expected and higher than the 0.2% increase seen in January.
The ISM manufacturing PMI rose to 50.3 in March versus 47.8 in February and topping market estimates of 48.4. U.S. construction spending fell by 0.3% from the prior month in February.
Torrid Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CURV) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results on Thursday. Doma Holdings Inc. (NYSE:DOMA) shares jumped more than 33% on Monday after the company entered a merger transaction with TRG to go private at $6.29 per share in cash.
Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with health care, real estate and industrials stocks recording the biggest losses on Monday. However, communication services and energy bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.
The Dow Jones closed lower by around 240 points to 39,566.85 on Monday. The S&P 500 fell 0.20% at 5,243.77, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.11% at 16,396.83 during Monday’s session.
Investors are awaiting earnings results from Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM), Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) and Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) today.
At a current reading of 72.4, the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Monday, versus a prior reading of 70.
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.
