Dow Dips Over 200 Points Ahead Of Fed Decision: Greed Index Remains In 'Fear' Zone
The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an increase in the overall fear level, while the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Monday.
U.S. stocks settled lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones index falling over 200 points during the session, with sentiment turning cautious as traders consider a Fed rate cut all but fully baked into current valuations.
The bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) intensified after Paramount Skydance Corp. (NASDAQ:PSKY) unveiled a $30-per-share cash offer, implying a valuation near $108.4 billion and overtaking Netflix’s (NASDAQ:NFLX) $27.75 cash-and-stock bid from last week.
Elsewhere, Confluent Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) jumped 29% after reports that International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is evaluating a potential acquisition.
On the economic data front, the one-year-ahead median inflation expectations in the U.S. remained at 3.2% in November.
Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with communication services, materials care and consumer discretionary stocks recording the biggest losses on Monday. However, information technology stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.
The Dow Jones closed lower by around 215 points to 47,739.32 on Monday. The S&P 500 declined 0.35% to 6,846.51, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.14% to 23,545.90 during Monday's session.
Investors are awaiting earnings results from AutoZone Inc. (NYSE:AZO), Campbell’s Co (NASDAQ:CPB) and Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG) today.
What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?
At a current reading of 31.2, the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Monday, versus a prior reading of 38.1.
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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