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

U.S. stocks settled mostly higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones index gaining more than 200 points during the session as investors shrugged off government shutdown concerns and a missing jobs report.

All three major indices recorded gains last week, with the S&P 500 gaining around 1.1% while the 30-stock Dow also jumped 1.1%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics failed to publish its monthly jobs report on Friday due to the shutdown, but markets leaned heavily on private data pointing to labor market softening.

The ADP Employment Report showed the largest private-sector job loss in over two years, while the ISM Services PMI recorded its fourth consecutive month of contraction in its employment component.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 239 points to 46,758.28 on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.01% to 6,715.79, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.28% to 22,780.51 during Friday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Constellation Brands Inc. ( STZ ) and Aehr Test Systems ( AEHR ) today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 53.8, the index remained in the “Neutral” zone on Friday, versus a prior reading of 53.7.

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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