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

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 0.2% during the session ahead of a big week of major earnings reports. The Federal Reserve decided to leave interest rates unchanged during its January FOMC meeting.

Memory and storage stocks soared after Seagate Technology Inc. crushed Wall Street expectations and raised full-year guidance, citing a worsening global supply crunch and fully booked orders amid surging AI demand. Starbucks Corp. ( SBUX ) reported better-than-expected first-quarter sales results.

On the economic data front, the volume of mortgage applications dipped by 8.5% from the previous week during the week ending Jan. 23.

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

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 12 points to 49,015.60 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.01% to 6,978.03, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.17% at 23,857.45 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Lockheed Martin Corp. ( LMT ) , Caterpillar Inc. ( CAT ) and Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) today.

What Is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 63.3, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 65.2.

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.