Dow Surges Over 1% Amid Fed Dovish Remarks: Investor Fear Eases, Greed Index Remains In 'Extreme Fear' Zone

Market Sentiment - The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some easing in the overall fear level, remaining in the "Extreme Fear" zone with a current reading of 10.5 compared to a prior reading of 7.2 [1][5] - The index is a measure of current market sentiment, indicating that higher fear pressures stock prices down, while higher greed has the opposite effect [6] Stock Market Performance - U.S. stocks settled higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones index gaining more than 1%, closing higher by around 493 points to 46,245.41 [1][4] - The S&P 500 gained 0.98% to 6,602.99, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.88% to 22,273.08 during Friday's session [4] - Despite the gains on Friday, all three major indices recorded significant losses last week, with the S&P 500 and Dow falling around 2% each [2] Company Earnings - Shares of Elastic N.V. (NYSE:ESTC) dipped 15% after posting second-quarter earnings [3] - BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter [3] - Investors are awaiting earnings results from Zoom Communications Inc (NASDAQ:ZM), Keysight Technologies Inc (NYSE:KEYS), and Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A) [4] Economic Indicators - The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index edged higher to 51.0 in November from a preliminary reading of 50.3 [3] - The S&P Global composite PMI climbed to 54.8 in November from 54.6 in October, exceeding market estimates of 54.5 [3] Sector Performance - All sectors on the S&P 500 closed positively, with communication services, health care, and materials stocks recording the biggest gains on Friday [4]