Market temperature (2/18)

The fear and greed index is a tracker to measure two of the primary emotions that influence how much investors are willing to pay for stocks and cryptos.

Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.---Warren Buffett

What emotion is driving the stock market?

During the last five trading days, volume in put options has lagged volume in call options by 86.62% as investors make bullish bets in their portfolios. This is among the lowest levels of put buying seen during the last two years, indicating extreme greed on the part of investors.

Last changed Dec 29 from a Fear rating.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is at 28.11. This is a neutral reading and indicates that market risks appear low.

Last changed Jan 27 from an Extreme Fear rating.

Bonds have outperformed stocks by 1.01 percentage points during the last 20 trading days. This is close to the weakest performance for stocks relative to bonds in the past two years and indicates investors are fleeing risky stocks for the safety of bonds.

Last changed Feb 14 from an Extreme Fear rating.