Benzinga·2025-12-18 07:38Market Sentiment - The CNN Money Fear and Greed index declined to a reading of 39.1, indicating a shift to the "Fear" zone from a previous reading of 45.5 [5] - U.S. stocks settled lower, with the Nasdaq Composite falling more than 400 points as investors sold off tech and AI-linked stocks [1] Company Performance - Nvidia Corp. experienced a drop of around 4%, marking its steepest decline in two months and reaching its lowest level since mid-September [2] - Oracle Corp. slid 5.4%, with its drawdown 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 - The volume of mortgage applications fell by 3.8% in the week ending December 12, following a 4.8% increase in the previous period [3] - Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed negatively, with information technology, communication services, and industrials recording the largest losses [3] - Consumer staples and energy stocks closed higher, bucking the overall market trend [3] Index Performance - The Dow Jones closed lower by approximately 228 points at 47,885.97 [4] - The S&P 500 fell by 1.16% to 6,721.43, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.81% to 22,693.32 during the session [4] - Investors are awaiting earnings results from Accenture Plc, FedEx Corp., and Nike Inc. [4]