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

U.S. stocks settled higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones index gaining more than 400 points during the session.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. ( WBA ) on Thursday reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. Worthington Steel, Inc ( WS ). shares jumped more than 20% on Thursday as the company reported stronger-than-expected financial results for the fourth quarter.

On the economic front, the first-quarter GDP was revised downward to -0.5% from the previous -0.2% figure, primarily due to a widening goods trade deficit linked to weaker exports. Yet, other data released Thursday painted a more positive picture.

Factory orders in May soared by 16.4% month-over-month to $343.6 billion, marking the biggest increase since July 2014. That followed a revised 6.6% drop in April and smashed market expectations of an 8.5% gain. Weekly jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 236,000 in the week ending June 21, while economists had forecast no change — another sign of labor market resilience.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 404 points to 43,386.84 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.80% to 6,141.02, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.97% to 20,167.91 during Thursday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Apogee Enterprises, Inc ( APOG ). and Cineverse Corp. today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 63, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Thursday, versus a prior reading of 58.2.

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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