S&P 500 Edges Lower But Records Weekly Gain: Investor Sentiment Weakens, Fear Index Remains In 'Greed' Zone

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

U.S. stocks settled slightly lower on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite falling around 0.1% during the session marked by thin liquidity and low volumes following the Christmas market closure.

For the week, the S&P 500 jumped 1.4% to record its fourth weekly surge in five weeks. The Dow and Nasdaq also added over 1% last week.

In energy markets, WTI crude fell on Friday amid signs of progress on peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet President Donald Trump at the White House on Sunday.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose more than 1% on Friday after Wall Street analysts welcomed the company’s reported $20 billion strategic deal with AI startup Groq, a move they say will further strengthen Nvidia’s competitive moat in artificial intelligence.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 20 points to 48,710.97 on Friday. The S&P 500 slipped 0.03% to 6,929.94, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.09% to 23,593.10 during Friday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Obook Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:OWLS) today.

What Is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 55.5, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 57.7.

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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