S&P 500 Hits New High As Oil Prices Fall: Investor Sentiment Improves, Fear Index Remains In 'Greed' Zone

Benzinga15:30

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an increase in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 surging to a new all-time high during the session.

The driving force was a sharp drop in energy prices after President Donald Trump signaled progress in negotiations with Iran.

Chip and chip-equipment names led the tech complex higher. Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) surged around 13% on renewed reports that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is evaluating Intel's foundry services for a future generation of in-house silicon, lending fresh credibility to the chipmaker's turnaround under CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) jumped 11% amid resilient AI-memory pricing and bullish hyperscaler capex commentary,

In earnings, PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares fell around 8% on Tuesday after the company reported first-quarter 2026 results that topped Wall Street expectations but showed signs of margin pressure and slowing engagement. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) reported upbeat earnings for the first quarter on Tuesday.

On the economic data front, sales of new single-family homes climbed 7.4% month-over-month to 682,000 in March, up from 635,000 in February. The ISM services PMI fell to 53.6 in April from 54 in the previous month. Job openings declined by 56,000 to 6.866 million in March.

All sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with materials, information technology and industrials stocks recording the biggest gains on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones closed higher by around 356 points to 49,298.25 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.81% to 7,259.22, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.03% at 25,326.12 during Tuesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Kraft Heinz Co. (NASDAQ:KHC), Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) and Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) today.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

At a current reading of 66.9, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Tuesday, versus a prior reading of 61.9.

The Fear & Greed Index is a measure of the current market sentiment. It is based on the premise that higher fear exerts pressure on stock prices, while higher greed has the opposite effect. The index is calculated based on seven equal-weighted indicators. The index ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 represents maximum fear and 100 signals maximum greediness.

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