Benzinga·2025-12-18 07:38Market Sentiment - The CNN Money Fear and Greed index declined to 39.1, entering the "Fear" zone from a previous reading of 45.5, indicating a shift in market sentiment [5] - U.S. stocks settled lower, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping over 400 points as investors sold off tech and AI-linked stocks [1] Company Performance - Nvidia Corp. experienced a 4% drop, marking its steepest decline in two months and reaching its lowest level since mid-September [2] - Oracle Corp. fell by 5.4%, with its decline from October's all-time highs nearing 50% [2] - General Mills Inc. reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 outlook [2] - Jabil Inc. posted positive earnings for its first quarter [2] Economic Data - Mortgage application volume decreased by 3.8% for the week ending December 12, following a 4.8% increase in the previous week [3] - Most sectors in the S&P 500 closed negatively, with information technology, communication services, and industrials experiencing the largest losses, while consumer staples and energy sectors closed higher [3] Market Indices - The Dow Jones closed down approximately 228 points at 47,885.97, the S&P 500 fell 1.16% to 6,721.43, and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.81% to 22,693.32 during the session [4] - Investors are anticipating earnings results from Accenture Plc, FedEx Corp., and Nike Inc. [4]