Stock Market Fear & Greed Index

The Fear and Greed Index is a market sentiment indicator that measures whether investors are currently driven by fear or greed. It aggregates multiple data signals — such as price momentum, trading volume, analyst ratings, and social sentiment — into a single score from 0 (Extreme Fear) to 100 (Extreme Greed). It’s widely used to identify potential buying opportunities during periods of fear and potential sell signals during periods of greed.

CNN’s widely-cited Fear and Greed Index is built from seven market-derived signals — price momentum, breadth, put/call ratio, market volatility, junk bond demand, safe haven demand and stock price strength. AltIndex’s index uses 12 signals, of which six are alternative data sources CNN’s index doesn’t track: webpage traffic, Reddit mentions, employee business outlook, job postings, employee headcount, and Stocktwits sentiment. These signals often move before price does, giving AltIndex’s index a forward-looking read on sentiment that market-derived indexes can only confirm after the fact.

A low score — typically below 25 — indicates Extreme Fear, meaning investors are selling aggressively and the market may be oversold. Historically, periods of extreme fear have often preceded market recoveries, as prices fall below fair value. Many contrarian investors use low Fear and Greed readings as a signal to consider buying.

A high score — typically above 75 — indicates Extreme Greed, meaning investors are chasing momentum, valuations are stretched, and risk-taking is elevated. Historically, these periods can precede corrections as the market becomes overextended. Many investors treat Extreme Greed readings as a cue to take some risk off the table.

Historically, buying during periods of extreme fear has produced strong long-term returns, as markets tend to be undervalued when sentiment is at its worst. However, the Fear and Greed Index is a sentiment tool, not a timing tool — it should be used alongside fundamental analysis and your own risk tolerance, not as a standalone buy signal.

The AltIndex Fear and Greed Index is updated daily. All 11 underlying signals — including price, volume, Reddit mentions, analyst ratings, job postings, employee count, and business outlook — are refreshed each morning to reflect the most recent available data.

Market-derived signals like the VIX and put/call ratios react to price movements that have already happened. Alternative data signals — Reddit mentions, web traffic, hiring activity, employee outlook — capture the underlying behaviour that often shapes future prices: who’s talking about stocks, who’s buying from companies, who’s hiring, and how employees feel about their employer’s prospects. By blending the two, AltIndex’s index leads when traditional indexes can only follow.

The historical trend chart on this page shows the index over the past 12 months, with each monthly reading and the underlying signal contributions. The colored boxes below the chart break down each of the 12 signals individually so you can see which inputs are driving the current score.