The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an improvement in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Thursday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 recording its first settlement above the 7,200 level.

In earnings, Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) shares jumped around 10% on Thursday after the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) jumped 10% following strong first-quarter revenue. However, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares lost 8.6% and 3.9%, respectively, following quarterly results.

President Donald Trump kept the Iran story front and center, saying that European leaders should stop "interfering with those that are getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat" and doubling down on the U.S. naval blockade that has left Tehran's energy exports collapsing

On the economic data front, GDP for the first quarter came in at a 2% annualized clip below expectations, core PCE prices – the Fed's favorite inflation gauge – accelerated, and initial jobless claims plunged to their lowest level since 2022

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with utilities, communication services and industrials stocks recording the biggest gains on Thursday. However, information technology stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 790 points to 49,652.14 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 1.02% to 7,209.01, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.89% at 24,892.31 during Thursday's session.

The S&P 500 jumped 10.4% in April, recording its best month since November 2020, while the Nasdaq climbed 15.3% to record its strongest monthly performance since April 2020. The Dow climbed 7.1% last month, notching its best month since November 2024.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM), Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) and Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE:CL) today.

What Is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 66.6, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Thursday, versus a prior reading of 63.4.

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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