The CNN Money Fear and Greed index remained in the "Greed" zone on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks settled lower on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite falling more than 100 points during the session.

Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) posted worse-than-expected third-quarter earnings and lowered 2024 guidance. Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) also reported upbeat first-quarter financial results after market close Wednesday.

On the economic data front, pending home sales in the U.S. surged by 7.4% from the previous month in September, compared to a 0.6% gain in August. The U.S. economy grew by an annualized 2.8% in the third quarter, from 3% in the second quarter. Private businesses in the U.S. hired 233K workers to their payrolls in October compared to a revised 159K gain in September.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with communication services, real estate and financial stocks recording the biggest gains on Wednesday. However, information technology and consumer staples stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones closed lower by around 92 points to 42,141.54 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.33% to 5,813.67, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.56% at 18,607.93 during Wednesday's session.

Investors are awaiting earnings results from Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) today.

At a current reading of 57.6, the index remained in the "Greed" zone on Wednesday, versus a prior reading of 57.7.

What is CNN Business Fear & Greed Index?

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.