The CNN Money Fear and Greed Index indicated that market sentiment was in the "Greed" zone on Friday despite U.S. stocks finishing the day lower, primarily driven by geopolitical uncertainties. The Dow Jones experienced a significant drop of around 475 points during the trading session, contributing to a negative close for all sectors on the S&P 500, with technology, materials, and consumer discretionary stocks suffering the most losses.
On the economic data front, U.S. export prices rose by 0.3% in March, continuing the previous month's 0.7% gain, while import prices increased by 0.4% month-over-month in March compared to a 0.3% rise in February. Additionally, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index declined to 77.9 in April from the previous month's reading of 79.4, indicating a slight weakening in consumer confidence.
Major financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup reported their first-quarter earnings on Friday. While JPMorgan's shares plummeted by over 6% following its earnings report, Wells Fargo exceeded analyst expectations with earnings per share of $1.20, compared to the consensus of $1.09. In a similar trend, Citigroup posted better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, adding to the mixed performance of the banking sector during this period.
Looking ahead, investors are anticipating earnings results from M&T Bank Corporation, The Charles Schwab Corporation, and The Goldman Sachs Group today. The Fear & Greed Index, which stands at 46, remained in the "Neutral" zone on Friday, reflecting a balance between fear and greed in the market sentiment. The index serves as a gauge of current market sentiment, with higher fear typically pressuring stock prices while increased greed can have the opposite effect, using seven equally weighted indicators to generate a score ranging from 0 (maximum fear) to 100 (maximum greediness).