Dow Jumps 350 Points On Rate Cut Bets: Fear & Greed Index Remains In 'Neutral' Zone

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed almost no change in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the “Neutral” zone on Thursday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones index gaining 350 points during the session as signs of labor market cooling in August cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates at its Sept. 17 meeting.

Science Applications International Corp. SAIC stock fell 6% on Thursday after reporting the second-quarter 2026 earnings.

On the economic front, the ADP National Employment Report showed just 54,000 jobs were added in August, a steep decline from 106,000 in July and well below the 65,000 median forecast. U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 8,000 from the previous week to 237,000 in the final week of August, compared to market expectations of 230,000. The ISM services PMI climbed to 52 in August from 50.1 in July, compared to market estimates of 51. The US trade gap rose to $78.3 billion in July from a revised $59.1 billion gap in the previous month.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 350 points to 45,621.29 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.83% to 6,502.08, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.98% to 21,707.69 during Thursday’s session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from ABM Industries Inc. ABM and Children’s Place Inc. PLCE today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 51.6, the index remained in the “Neutral” zone on Thursday, versus a prior reading of 51.6.

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.

Read Next:

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock