The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a further increase in the overall fear level, while the index remained in the “Extreme Fear” zone on Friday.

U.S. stocks settled mostly lower on Friday, with the Dow Jones index dipping more than 300 points during the session.

Nvidia Corp. ( NVDA ) gained 1.8%, partially recovering from its 3.6% drop in the prior session, while Micron Technology Inc. ( MU ) jumped over 4%.

Shares of Spire Inc. ( SR ) fell more than 2% on Friday after the company reported results for the fourth quarter.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 310 points to 47,147.48 on Friday. The S&P 500 slipped 0.05% to 6,734.11, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.13% to 22,900.59 during Friday's session.

The Nasdaq ended lower by 0.5% last week, while both the S&P 500 and the Dow added 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Aramark ( ARMK ) , Aecom ( ACM ) and Helmerich and Payne Inc. ( HP ) today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 22.2, the index remained in the “Extreme Fear” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 18.1.

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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