CNN's Fear & Greed Index rose to 31 on Wednesday, deep in “Extreme Fear” territory, after a hot inflation report, new Middle East attacks and a chip selloff over AI debt concerns that put CoreWeave under scrutiny. Still, the VIX closed at 18.52, within its normal 15–20 range, and September retail sales reached $745.0 billion, the highest in a year. The article argues the real pressure is in the bond market, where the 10-year Treasury yield stood at 5.21% on October 13, up from 4.05% a year earlier, lifting mortgage rates and corporate borrowing costs. It highlights three signals to watch: a 10-year yield above 5.31%, a VIX close above 20, and October retail sales. It also notes long-term investors have weathered similar readings before, with SPY up 256.66% over 10 years.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Original headline: Fear & Greed Index Hits 31 : Investors Are Running Scared . Should You Be ?
Read the original on 247wallst.com ↗
Keywords
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
SPY
▼ Likely negativeSPDR S&P 500 ETF
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 10/21/2026 | 773.09 |
| Change that session | +0.53% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- Treasury yields move lower as investors assess U.S. inflation backdrop
Yields on 10-year Treasurys fell more than 2 basis points to 5.0729%, 30-year yields dropped 2 basis points to 5.4122%, and the 2-year note was broadly flat at 4.7273%. Yields eased even as inflation concerns persist, after strong Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed wholesale prices up 6.3% annually last month, the biggest jump since 2022, and consumer costs up 3.7% in September, beating estimates. Energy prices also fell as investors weighed the prospect of more Russian crude reaching the market, with WTI for November delivery down 2.05% at $99.33 a barrel and Brent down 2.65% to $106.99. Traders price an above-85% chance that the FOMC will keep borrowing costs unchanged at its Oct. 28 decision, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
- Dow Jones Top Markets Headlines at 7 PM ET : Stocks Gain as Treasury Yields Give Back Some Recent Gains | Wholesale ...
U.S. stocks rose despite tech-sector volatility and a hot wholesale inflation reading. The producer-price index jumped 1.3% in September, its largest gain since March 2022 and well above the 0.6% expected. U.S. commercial crude inventories fell 8.6 million barrels last week, per the EIA, as output and imports dropped and refineries ran harder. Treasury and German Bund yields slid to multiweek lows as concern shifted to the impact of high borrowing costs on the outlook. U.S. retail sales rose 0.8% to $745 billion in September, slowing from an upwardly revised 1.3% in August, while jobless claims were 199,000 in the week through Oct. 10.
- investingLive Americas market news wrap : Yields continue to fall even after hot PPI data
- Wholesale inflation surged in September , keeping affordability in focus ahead of the midterms
The U.S. Producer Price Index rose 1.3% month-on-month and 6.3% year-on-year in September, its highest level in over four years and above economists' forecasts of 0.5% and 5.3%. Energy drove 80% of the 2.9% jump in goods prices, while core PPI rose 0.7% and 5% annually. Earlier, September CPI reached 3.7% annually, with core inflation at 2.6%. Retail sales slowed to 0.8% in September after 1.3% in August, and only 0.2% excluding gas stations; adjusted for inflation, sales were even weaker. Economists say price pressures are spreading to food and consumer goods, and Treasury yields fell as investors moved into bonds after a drop in AI stocks.
- 1 of the Stock Market's Most Reliable Recession Warnings Just Disappeared. Here's What Usually Happens Next.
The 10-year/three-month Treasury yield spread has long been regarded as a reliable recession indicator, having inverted 8 times over more than 60 years, and each time a recession followed, usually within 6 to 18 months. Its 9th inversion, in late 2022, bottomed near -200 basis points without a recession, which the author argues means the signal has effectively disappeared. The yield curve is now steepening mainly because long-term yields have risen sharply, as U.S. inflation has run at 3% to 4% for most of 2026 and Treasury bond supply has increased. Strong corporate earnings growth and positive GDP growth are cushioning the impact, but the author stresses that recession risk has not gone away.
- Dow Jones Top Markets Headlines at 9 PM ET : U . S . Stocks Mixed as Strong Earnings Offset AI Credit Fears | More ...
U.S. stocks ended mixed as generally strong earnings offset concerns about the sustainability of the debt-fueled AI boom. Highlights include SpaceX's earnings call, where Musk discussed a possible SpaceX–Tesla merger and projected revenue of $500 billion a year, and Treasury Secretary Bessent's remark that a Fannie and Freddie restructuring could happen before the Trump term ends, though it is not imminent. The Reserve Bank of Australia said the inflation outlook is “materially worse,” and President Trump announced an $8 billion program to cover farmers' losses from higher fuel and input costs. Pending home sales fell in September to the lowest level on record as the average 30-year mortgage rate crossed 7%, while Treasury yields eased after a string of weak housing data.
Related markets
Latest news
- Cardano holders are being asked to bet $5 million on copper hitting a new record
Toto Finance is asking Cardano's treasury for 22 million ADA, about $5 million, to buy and tokenize copper, with voting closing Nov. 15. About two-thirds of the budget would buy copper stored in a COMEX-approved warehouse for 18 to 24 months before sale, while the rest covers storage, insurance, audits and Toto's work. If the full budget is spent and ADA's dollar price stays unchanged, copper would need to rise about 49.4% for the treasury to recover its investment, and there is no guarantee the treasury gets its original ADA back. Toto could receive up to 3.36 million ADA, roughly 15% of the request, and would keep its commercial rights to its tokenized-copper business. The proposal would use just over half of Cardano's remaining withdrawal allowance, which would not be replenished under existing rules.
- Bitcoin Core changes security policy as AI makes bugs easier to find
Bitcoin Core is changing its security disclosure policy because large language models have made some flaws easy to rediscover, so long embargoes offer little protection. Under the new policy, vulnerabilities deemed easily discoverable will be fixed as soon as possible across all maintained major versions, with security advisories published alongside the updates. Other flaws will follow severity-based schedules: low-severity bugs will be disclosed two weeks after the fix is released, while medium and high-severity bugs will be disclosed two weeks after the last affected release reaches End of Life, typically a year after the fix. The change follows a volunteer Bitcoin Red Team report of nearly 5,000 potential issues across 390 projects in August, though only about a fifth had been reproduced at that point.
- Asia FX steadies as oil surge weighs on risk appetite, yen holds gains
Asian currencies and the U.S. dollar were largely subdued on Friday as investors weighed rising energy costs and geopolitical tensions, while the yen held its gains after a safe-haven rally tied to concerns over global growth and tech valuations. The U.S. Dollar Index was flat at 101.60 by 03:33 GMT, near a three-week low and on track for a second straight weekly loss. USD/JPY edged up 0.1% to 156.90 after a nearly 1% drop in the previous session, as the yen reached its highest level in more than a month. Brent crude near $114 a barrel, after a 4% jump on Thursday following attacks in Saudi Arabia, raises inflation risks for energy importers such as Japan, India and South Korea. The Indian rupee extended its losses, with USD/INR up 0.3% to 95.109, while the yuan hovered near four-year lows; the Fed is expected to hold rates at 3.75%-4.00% on October 28, with ECB and BoJ decisions due on October 29 and 30.
- Securities firm with the heaviest loss in the sector in Q3 2026 revealed
APG Securities (APG) posted a pre-tax loss of nearly 108 billion VND in Q3 2026, compared with a profit of nearly 20 billion VND a year earlier, the largest loss among securities firms that have reported Q3 results. Revenue fell 21% to nearly 69 billion VND and gains from FVTPL financial assets dropped 93%, while operating expenses rose to nearly 124 billion VND, mainly due to a 119 billion VND loss on FVTPL assets. Financial expenses rose nearly 33% to 43.5 billion VND, mostly interest costs. For the first nine months, APG recorded a pre-tax loss of nearly 105 billion VND, against a profit of over 28 billion VND a year earlier, putting its 2026 pre-tax profit target of 20 billion VND under pressure.
- IonQ vs. Rigetti Computing: Which Quantum Computing Stock Is the Better Buy?
The article compares quantum computing companies IonQ (ion-based) and Rigetti Computing (superconducting). Rigetti reported Q2 revenue of $5.1 million, up from $1.8 million in 2025, but an operating loss of $28.1 million, and held $541.3 million in cash and investments; it also received a $100 million award from the U.S. Department of Commerce. IonQ posted Q2 revenue of $80.1 million and forecasts 2026 sales of $280–290 million versus $130 million in 2025, though its Q2 operating loss widened to $337.2 million from $160.6 million, and the Elisity deal involves stock valued at up to $1.3 billion. The author judges IonQ the better investment given its consistent revenue growth, says they bought IonQ shares, and notes Rigetti's price-to-sales ratio is more than six times IonQ's.
- Hoa Binh Construction dismisses a Deputy General Director
Hoa Binh Construction (HBC) dismissed Nguyen Kinh Luan from his position as Deputy General Director effective 1 November 2026, for personal reasons, and he will remain a Board member. Earlier, on 15 September 2026, Mr. Luan resigned from all his positions at the company and related entities. Separately, on 18 September 2026, the company distributed more than 51.4 million shares to 99 creditors to swap debt of nearly VND 514.2 billion, equal to 100% of the shares issued. The swapped shares are restricted from transfer for one year and are expected to be delivered within 30 days after the issuance closes.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.