The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some improvement in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks settled mostly lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index falling around 300 points during the session.

Shares of Stitch Fix, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFIX) dipped more than 39% on Wednesday after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter EPS results.

On the economic data front, U.S. building permits increased by 4.6% to an annual rate of 1.470 million in August. Sales of new single-family houses in the U.S. fell by 4.7% from the prior month to an annualized rate of 716,000 in August of 2024, compared to a revised 10.3% gain in the prior month.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 293 points to 41,914.75 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.19% to 5,722.26, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.04% at 18,082.21 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL), and Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 67, the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 66.5.

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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