The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an increase in the overall fear level, while the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks settled lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index falling more than 300 points during the session as a wave of disappointing earnings guidance and escalating U.S.-China trade tensions rattled investor confidence.

The Trump administration is considering new restrictions on exports to China that would target products either made with or containing U.S.-developed software

Netflix Inc. ( NFLX ) was the S&P 500’s biggest laggard, plunging more than 10% in its worst session since April 2022. The streaming giant fell short of third-quarter profit estimates after incurring a $619 million tax dispute-related loss in Brazil, which overshadowed its otherwise strong content performance. AT&T Inc. ( T ) shares fell around 2% on Wednesday after the company announced financial results for its fiscal third quarter.

On the economic data front, the volume of mortgage applications declined by 0.3% from the previous week during the week ending Oct. 17.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with communication services, industrials and consumer discretionary stocks recording the biggest losses on Wednesday. However, energy and consumer staples stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 334 points to 46,590.41 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.53% to 6,699.40, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.93% at 22,740.40 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from American Airlines Group Inc. ( AAL ) , Honeywell International Inc. ( HON ) and Ford Motor Co. ( F ) today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 26.5, the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 29.

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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