S&P 500 Settles At Record High After Inflation Data: Investor Sentiment Declines, Fear & Greed Index Remains In 'Neutral' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index falling more than 200 points during the session. The S&P 500, however, surged to new highs following data on wholesale prices.

The Producer Price Index slipped 0.1% in August, defying expectations for a 0.3% increase. Wholesale inflation slowed sharply every year as well, falling from 3.3% to 2.6%.

A 25-basis-point interest rate cut next week is now fully priced in. Treasury yields fell, with the 30-year dipping to 4.70%

AI-linked stocks rallied on Wednesday, fueled by investor optimism that artificial intelligence will power earnings growth after Oracle Corp. (ORCL) revealed a massive backlog of AI-related orders.

Shares of Chewy, Inc (CHWY). fell around 17% on Wednesday after the company released results for the second quarter.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 220 points to 45,490.92 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.30% to 6,532.04, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.03% at 21,886.06 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Kroger Co. (KR) , RH and Adobe Inc. (ADBE) today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 50.9, the index remained in the “Neutral” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 51.1.

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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