The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a further easing in the fear level, while the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Monday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite surging around 1% to start the holiday-shortened week. Shares of Tesla Inc. ( TSLA ) gained more than 2%, while Nvidia Corp. ( NVDA ) added over 3% during the session.

The New York Stock Exchange will close early Tuesday for Christmas Eve and remain closed Wednesday for Christmas Day.

All three averages recorded losses last week. The Dow dipped around 2.3% to record its third losing week in a row. The S&P 500 declined about 2%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell around 1.8% last week.

On the economic data front, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose to -0.12 in November compared to a revised reading of -0.5 in October. U.S. durable goods orders fell 1.1% month-over-month to $285.1 billion in November compared to a revised 0.8% gain in October and versus market estimates of a 0.4% decline.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with communication services, health care, and information technology stocks recording the biggest gains on Monday. However, consumer staples and materials stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 67 points to 42,906.95 on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.73% to 5,974.07, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 0.98% to close at 19,764.88 during Monday's session.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 30.1, the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Monday, versus a prior reading of 28.1.

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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