Market fear & greed index
A 0 to 100 read of US equity market sentiment, computed by our engine from four price-based inputs: trend, breadth, momentum and volatility. 0 is extreme fear; 100 is extreme greed.
Computed from market data as of 08-19-2026 · refreshed daily
What the index measures
Markets swing between two emotions: fear, when investors sell risk and crowd into safety, and greed, when they chase gains and pay up for risk. This index compresses that mood into a single 0 to 100 number. Low readings mean fear dominates; high readings mean greed does. Unlike sentiment surveys, every input here is measured from market prices, not from what investors say.
What drives the score
Price trend (30% weight). Where the S&P 500 trades relative to its 200-day trend line. Markets holding above long-term trend reflect confidence; markets below it reflect caution or distress.
Market breadth (30% weight). The share of our tracked universe of US equities trading above their own 50-day average. Broad participation is a healthy, greedy tape; a narrow market where only a few names carry the index is a fearful one, whatever the headline index says.
Momentum (20% weight). The S&P 500’s return over the trailing quarter (63 trading days). Persistent gains embolden buyers; drawdowns put them on the defensive.
Volatility (20% weight). The VIX, the market’s priced-in expectation of near-term swings, measured against its calm-market norm around 18. A quiet VIX signals complacency and greed; an elevated one signals hedging and fear.
How to read the extremes
The gauge is most useful at its edges, and it reads contrarian there. Extreme fear (below 25) often marks washed-out selling, when quality names trade at a discount because everyone has already sold. Extreme greed (above 75) often precedes pullbacks, when optimism is fully priced and there are few buyers left to join. Neither is a timing signal on its own: extremes can persist for weeks. We read it as context, not as a trigger.
How ours differs from the well-known CNN index
CNN’s Fear & Greed Index blends seven equal-weighted inputs, including options positioning and junk-bond spreads. Ours uses the four inputs our trading engine actually trades on, with the same weights the engine uses to classify the market regime. That makes this gauge a live window into how our system reads the tape, not a replica of anyone else’s number.