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

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 recording gains for the third straight session driven by renewed investor appetite for risk following a breakthrough in early-week U.S.-China trade negotiations. Week to date, the S&P 500 gained over 4%, while the Dow added around 2%. The Nasdaq has added over 6% during the period.

Shares of Nvidia Corp. ( NVDA ) climbed more than 4% on Wednesday, while Advanced Micro Devices Inc ( AMD ). added 4.7%.

On the economic data front, U.S. mortgage application volumes increased by 1.1% from the previous week in the week ending May 9, following an 11% surge in the prior period.

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

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 89 points to 42,051.06 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 gained 0.10% to 5,892.58, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.72% at 19,146.81 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Alibaba Group Holding Limited ( BABA ) , Deere & Company ( DE ) and Walmart Inc ( WMT ). today.

At a current reading of 70.4, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 69.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

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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