The US stock market wrapped up the week with a mixed bag of results. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to a new record high, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed the day in the red. Despite the mixed performance, major indices still recorded gains for the third week in a row. The Dow and S&P 500 gained roughly 0.6% last week, while the Nasdaq surged about 1%.
The CNN Money Fear and Greed index, a gauge of market sentiment, showed a slight dip, though it remained in the “Greed” zone on Friday. This suggests that investors are still generally optimistic about the market, despite some recent volatility.
On the economic front, the US core PCE price index, a key measure of inflation, increased by 0.1% in August, slightly lower than market estimates. Additionally, US wholesale inventories rose 0.2% month-over-month in August.
Sector performance on the S&P 500 was uneven. Energy, utilities, and communication services stocks led the gains on Friday. However, information technology and materials stocks bucked the overall trend and closed lower.
The Dow Jones finished the day up around 138 points at 42,313.00. The S&P 500 fell 0.13% to 5,738.17, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.39% to 18,119.59.
Investors are keeping an eye on earnings releases from companies like Carnival Corporation and The Glimpse Group, Inc.
The CNN Business Fear & Greed Index, which currently stands at 67.8, is a measure of the overall market sentiment. It operates on the principle that heightened fear puts pressure on stock prices, while increased greed has the opposite effect. The index is derived from seven equally weighted indicators and ranges from 0 to 100, with 0 signifying maximum fear and 100 indicating extreme greed.
