S&P 500 Settles Higher Amid Gains In Nvidia Shares: Investor Sentiment Improves, Fear Index Remains In 'Greed' Zone

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some improvement in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Thursday.U.S. stocks settled higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 recording gains during the session driven by better-than-expected earnings from Nvidia Corp. NVDA.A federal court has invalidated global tariffs enacted by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a move that could reshape future U.S. trade policy.Best Buy Co. Inc. BBY shares fell around 7% on Thursday after the company posted downbeat results for the first quarter. Shares of Caleres Inc. CAL dipped 18% after the company reported first-quarter financial results and missed its adjusted EPS and sales estimates. Additionally, the company announced it will suspend its guidance.On the economic data front, U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 14,000 from the previous week to 240,000 in the week ending May 24th, compared to market estimates of 230,000. The U.S. economy shrank at an annualized rate of 0.2% in the first quarter, compared to the initial estimate of a 0.3% decline.Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with utilities, real estate and health care stocks recording the biggest gains on Thursday. However, communication services stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.The Dow Jones closed higher by around 117 points to 42,215.73 on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.40% to 5,912.17, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.39% to 19,175.87 during Thursday's session.Investors are awaiting earnings results from Shoe Carnival Inc. SCVL and Canopy Growth Corp. CGC today.What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?At a current reading of 64.1, the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 63.9.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. Top 2 Materials Stocks That Are Ticking Portfolio Bombs Photo courtesy: Shutterstock