S&P Settles Lower But Records Weekly Gain: Investor Sentiment Improves, Fear Index Remains In 'Greed' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Friday, with the S&P 500 closing lower during the session as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting and after data showed a dip in consumer confidence alongside mounting inflation concerns. However, broad market index recorded gains last week.

The Dow jumped 1.74%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.94% and 0.81%, respectively during the week.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) shares jumped 12% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced it had bought shares, which had previously tumbled by over 40% year-to-date. Intel Corp. (INTC) rose 3% on reports the U.S. administration is considering taking a stake in the company to bolster domestic chip manufacturing.

On the economic data front, retail sales for July rose by 0.5% on a month-over-month basis, coming in as expected. However, some consumer weakness surfaced in the latest University of Michigan's flash consumer sentiment report for August. The University of Michigan’s preliminary August survey showed consumer sentiment slipping to 58.6 from 61.7, missing expectations of 62.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 35 points to 44,946.12 on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 0.29% to 6,449.80, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.40% at 21,622.98 during Friday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results XP Inc (XP) , Fabrinet (FN) and Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW) today.

At a current reading of 64.5, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 63.3.

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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