The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an increase in the overall fear level, while the index moved to the “Extreme Fear” zone on Thursday.

U.S. stocks settled lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones index falling more than 300 points during the session.

Charles Schwab Corporation ( SCHW ) reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter.

On the economic data front, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index declined to a six-month low level of -12.8 in October from 23.2 in the previous month and missed market estimates of 10.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 301 points to 45,952.24 on Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 0.63% to 6,629.07, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.47% at 22,562.54 during Thursday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Slb NV ( SLB ) , American Express Co. ( AXP ) and Truist Financial Corp. ( TFC ) today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 23.4, the index moved to the “Extreme Fear” zone on Thursday, versus a prior reading of 30.9.

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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