Nasdaq Dips Over 300 Points: Investor Sentiment Declines, 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 Tuesday.

U.S. stocks settled mostly lower on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite falling more than 300 points during the session as the absence of fresh bullish catalysts prompted investors to take profits after the recent months-long rally.

The retreat came as peace talks between President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders failed to deliver a breakthrough. Investors are now turning their focus to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later this week for clearer signals on interest rates.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) rallied 7%, extending its monthly gains to 27%, after Japan’s SoftBank Group announced a $2 billion investment in the chipmaker. Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) jumped over 3% after posting a double beat on its latest quarterly results.

On the economic data front, U.S. housing starts climbed by 5.2% from the previous month to an annualized rate of 1.428 million in July. Building permits declined by 2.8% to an annualized rate of 1.354 million in July.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 10 points to 44,922.27 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.59% to 6,411.37, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.46% to 21,314.95 during Tuesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE:TJX), Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) and Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW) today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 60.3, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Tuesday, versus a prior reading of 63.6.

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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