FEAR AND GREED INDEX 40
The Fear & Greed Index (found on cnn.com) is one of the easiest indicators to use to determine current market emotion. The simple to read gauge (highlighted in our publication When to Buy and When to Sell: Combining Easy Indicators, Charts, and Financial Astrology - available on Amazon), is measured in a range from 0-100, and currently reads 40, as of the close on Friday, May 3, 2024.
This figure sits in the latter portion of the “FEAR” category, 5 points below “NEUTRAL,” moving down about 2 points from last Friday’s close at 42. It was a very volatile week that began with a sizable decline, followed by a big reversal, basically ending flat from beginning to end. This was supported by the slight +28 incline in the S&P 500, from 5,099 to 5,127 - approximately 0.05 %. However, it is essentially 20 points lower than the closing reading of 63 “GREED” exactly one month ago. The steady decline supports the volatile conditions somewhat affected by the loss of confidence for a potential interest rate cut by the Fed in their June or July meeting. Over the past few sessions there appears to have been a boost in sentiment based on lower job creation, and a renewed confidence that a rate cut may be coming sooner than later, which remains to be seen if it can be sustained.
The close to “neutral” sentiment indicates some indecision in investors, since the recent highs at the end of March.
Astrologically, it was no surprise that the markets became increasingly volatile with the Mercury retrograde period that began on April 1, and lasted through April 26 (see our 4/1/24 Planet Power – Mercury Retrograde blog). These periods, which occur 2-3 times per calendar year, are almost always met with a great deal of market indecision and wild price swings. It can be very difficult to swing trade during this period, and this time was no different. The long-anticipated Jupiter-Uranus conjunction also took place on April 20, while Mercury was still retrograde. Jupiter, which is known to symbolize expansion, and Uranus, which symbolizes sudden, unexpected, events. This conjunction occurring in the sign of Taurus (money), also signified unpredictable market reversals. Please read our “Today’s Transit” blog, dated 4/3/24, for a deeper dive into the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction.
