S&P 500 Surges To Record Close Following Jobs Data: Investor Sentiment Improves, Fear Index Remains in ‘Greed’ Zone
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.U.S. stocks surged to record highs, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rising for a second consecutive week, driven by improved investor sentiment despite weak July jobs data. The CNN Fear & Greed Index remained in the 'Greed' zone at 63.7. Major sectors like technology and consumer discretionary led gains, while energy lagged. Individual stocks such as Atlassian and Twilio posted significant jumps on strong earnings reports.
The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an improvement in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Friday.
U.S. stocks settled higher on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining more than 300 points and the S&P 500 surging to a record close during the session.
Stocks also recorded gains for the second straight week, with the S&P 500 rising 3.6% and the Nasdaq surging 5.2%. The Dow also jumped around 3% last week.
On the economic data front, the U.S. economy unexpectedly shed 23,000 jobs in July against forecasts of an 80,000 gain, while May and June payrolls were revised down by a combined 103,000. Average hourly earnings rose just 0.1% on the month and 3.2% on the year, both below consensus. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2%.
On the earnings front, Atlassian Corp. (NASDAQ:TEAM) jumped over 35% after reporting upbeat fiscal fourth-quarter results. Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) surged about 25% on strong second-quarter results.
Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with consumer discretionary, information technology and materials stocks recording the biggest gains on Friday. However, energy and communication services stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.
The Dow Jones closed higher by around 152 points to 54,036.93 on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.62% to 7,757.64, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.30% to 26,690.62 during Friday’s session.
Investors are awaiting earnings results from Aecom (NYSE:ACM), Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) and Monday.com Ltd (NASDAQ:MNDY) today.
What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?
At a current reading of 63.7, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 58.9.
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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