Market temperature (3/2)

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?

Investors in low quality junk bonds are accepting 1.79 percentage points in additional yield over safer investment grade corporate bonds. This spread is higher than what has been typical for the last two years and indicates that investors are risk averse.

Last changed Feb 25 from a Neutral rating.

During the last five trading days, volume in put options has lagged volume in call options by 51.83% as investors make bullish bets in their portfolios. However, this is still among the highest levels of put buying seen during the last two years, indicating fear on the part of investors.

Last changed Feb 28 from an Extreme Fear rating.

The number of stocks hitting 52-week lows exceeds the number hitting highs and is at the lower end of its range, indicating extreme fear.

Last changed Jan 20 from a Fear rating.