Dow Surges Over 1% Amid Fed Dovish Remarks: Investor Fear Eases, Greed Index Remains In 'Extreme Fear' Zone

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some easing in the overall fear level, while the index remained in the “Extreme Fear” zone on Friday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones index gaining more than 1% during the session as a wave of dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials flipped market expectations toward a rate cut next month.

Risk appetite returned the moment New York Fed President John Williams suggested the central bank has room to ease policy further, pointing to a cooling labor market. His tone was reinforced by Gov. Stephen Miran, who explicitly said he would vote for a cut following "dovish implications" from the September jobs report released Thursday.

However, all three major indices recorded big losses last week, with the S&P 500 and Dow falling around 2% each.

Shares of Elastic N.V. (ESTC) dipped 15% on Friday after the company posted second-quarter earnings. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. posted better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter.

On the economic data front, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index edged higher to 51.0 in November versus a preliminary reading of 50.3. The S&P Global composite PMI climbed to 54.8 in November from 54.6 in October and higher than market estimates of 54.5.

All sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with communication services, health care and materials stocks recording the biggest gains on Friday.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 493 points to 46,245.41 on Friday. The S&P 500 gained 0.98% to 6,602.99, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.88% at 22,273.08 during Friday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Zoom Communications Inc (ZM) , Keysight Technologies Inc (KEYS) and Agilent Technologies Inc (A) today.

At a current reading of 10.5, the index remained in the “Extreme Fear” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 7.2.

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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