S&P 500 Edges Lower But Records Weekly Gain: Investor Sentiment Weakens, Fear Index Remains In 'Greed' Zone

Market Sentiment - The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a decline in overall market sentiment, with a current reading of 55.5, down from 57.7, indicating the index remains in the "Greed" zone [5] - U.S. stocks settled slightly lower on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite falling around 0.1% amid thin liquidity and low volumes following the Christmas market closure [1] Stock Performance - For the week, the S&P 500 increased by 1.4%, marking its fourth weekly surge in five weeks, while the Dow and Nasdaq also gained over 1% [1] - Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed negatively, with consumer discretionary, energy, and financials stocks recording the largest losses, while materials and information technology stocks closed higher [3] - The Dow Jones closed lower by approximately 20 points to 48,710.97, the S&P 500 slipped 0.03% to 6,929.94, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.09% to 23,593.10 during Friday's session [3] Energy Market - WTI crude prices fell on Friday due to signs of progress in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine [2] Company News - Nvidia Corp. rose more than 1% after analysts welcomed its reported $20 billion strategic deal with AI startup Groq, which is expected to strengthen Nvidia's competitive position in artificial intelligence [2] - Investors are awaiting earnings results from Obook Holdings Inc. [4]