The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a drop in the market sentiment.
The Nasdaq Composite snapped a seven-day win streak on Wednesday as investors digested the retail sales data, which showed a decline of 1.1% month-over-month for December, higher than market expectations of a 1% drop. Producer prices for final demand in the US fell 0.5% month-over-month in December.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares traded lower on Wednesday after the company announced a workforce reduction of roughly 10,000 employees amid lease consolidation, which will result in a $1.2 billion charge in Q2.
The Dow closed lower by around 614 points to 33,296.96 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 1.56% to 3,928.86, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.24% to settle at 10,957.01 in the session.
Investors are awaiting earnings results from The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), and M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) today.
At a current reading of 57.0, the index remained in the “Greed” zone, compared to a previous reading of 65.0.
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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