Fear and Greed Index
Free Fear and Greed Index: Live Market Sentiment
Measure market sentiment with a live Fear and Greed score from 0 to 100. A color coded sentiment zone shows whether investors are scared, greedy, or somewhere in between. Built for beginners. No signup, updates daily.
What is the Fear and Greed Index?
The Fear and Greed Index is a single number from 0 to 100 that tells you how nervous or excited the market is. Below 25 means extreme fear. Above 75 means extreme greed. It combines 7 different indicators into one easy-to-read score.
How does market sentiment work?
Patterns that hold across every reporting season. The specific numbers change, the structure does not.
Fear and Greed Index: live market sentiment.
A score below 25 signals extreme fear. Above 75 signals extreme greed. Refresh the index to check the current market sentiment zone.
Sentiment data is sourced via a server-side API call and reflects current market conditions. This tool is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Educational content only. Sentiment readings can change quickly and are not buy or sell signals. Use the Fear and Greed Index as a research prompt alongside market breadth, fundamentals, valuation and risk management.
The Fear and Greed Index combines 7 sentiment indicators into a single 0 to 100 score. It tells you in one glance whether the market is in extreme fear, extreme greed, or somewhere in between.
How to use the Fear and Greed Index: written walkthrough
A short suggested walkthrough showing what the 0 to 100 score means and how beginners can use sentiment as market context.
How a beginner should approach this tool
Each chapter below maps to a stage of using this tool: work through them in order.
- Step 1What the 0 to 100 score means
- Step 2Fear, neutral and greed zones
- Step 3How sentiment can differ from fundamentals
- Step 4Common mistakes when reading sentiment
Why should you watch the Fear and Greed Index?
Clear beginner outcomes for this specific tool.
Understand market mood
The score gives beginners a simple way to see whether investors are fearful, neutral or greedy.
Avoid emotional extremes
Extreme fear or greed can highlight periods where emotions may be influencing decisions.
Use sentiment as context, not a signal
The index is best used beside valuation, fundamentals and price trend research.
What is the Fear and Greed Index and how does it work?
Sentiment is one of the few inputs that matters at extremes. When the crowd is universally scared, the bad news may already be priced in. When the crowd is universally greedy, expectations are too high to beat.
- The Fear and Greed Index is a 0 to 100 score showing current market sentiment.
- Below 25 = extreme fear. Above 75 = extreme greed. 50 = neutral.
- The score combines 7 inputs: volatility, momentum, breadth, options demand, junk bond demand, safe haven demand, and 52-week highs.
- It is a contrarian indicator. Extreme fear often near bottoms, extreme greed often near tops.
- Most of the time the index sits between 30 and 70 and does not signal much.
Total read time: about 8 minutes. Each section can stand on its own.
What is the Fear and Greed Index? 1 min read
The Fear and Greed Index is a single score from 0 to 100 that summarises how the stock market feels right now. The lower the score, the more fearful investors are. The higher the score, the more greedy. It is built by combining 7 different sentiment indicators into one composite number.
The index works on a simple principle: emotions move markets, especially at extremes. When everyone is scared, the bad news is usually already in the price. When everyone is greedy, expectations are high and easy to disappoint.
- 0 to 25: Extreme Fear
- 26 to 45: Fear
- 46 to 55: Neutral
- 56 to 75: Greed
- 76 to 100: Extreme Greed
The index updates daily after the US market close. Most days it sits in the Fear or Greed range. Extreme readings are rarer and historically more useful as signals.
How to read the index 1 min read
Step 1: Check the headline number. Is it under 25? Over 75? Or somewhere in the middle? Most of the time it is in the middle, which means sentiment is not flashing a clear signal.
Step 2: Look at the zone. Extreme fear and extreme greed are the readings worth paying attention to. The middle three zones are background noise.
Step 3: Check how long it has been there. Extreme fear that lasts a week is different to extreme fear that lasts one day. Persistent extremes are more meaningful.
Step 4: Read the 7 inputs. The composite score can hide what is driving it. Knowing whether the fear is from volatility, breadth, or options demand tells you what specifically is unsettling the market.
The 5 sentiment zones 1 min read
What each sentiment zone usually means
What the zones do not tell you: when. Extreme fear can persist for weeks. Extreme greed can keep climbing. The zone tells you the temperature, not the moment of reversal.
The 7 inputs explained 1 min read
The composite score is built from 7 inputs, each measuring a different angle of sentiment. They are weighted equally.
The 7 sentiment inputs
| Input | What it captures | Fear signal | Greed signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market volatility (VIX) | Expected S&P 500 swings | High VIX = fear | Low VIX = complacency |
| Market momentum | S&P 500 vs 125-day moving average | Price below MA | Price above MA |
| Stock breadth | Advances vs declines volume | Decliners winning | Advancers winning |
| Put/call ratio | Options demand | Heavy put buying | Heavy call buying |
| Junk bond demand | Junk vs investment grade spread | Spreads widen (risk-off) | Spreads tighten (risk-on) |
| Safe haven demand | Stocks vs bonds returns | Bonds outperform | Stocks outperform |
| 52-week highs vs lows | NYSE net new highs | Many new lows | Many new highs |
Each input is normalised to a 0 to 100 scale, then averaged. The result is the composite score.
Common mistakes when reading the index 2 min read
Treating the index as a timing signal. Extreme fear at 15 does not mean tomorrow is the bottom. It could persist for weeks and go lower.
→ Fix: Treat the index as a gauge of temperature, not a forecast. Pair it with your own research before acting.
Acting only on the headline number. A score of 25 driven by VIX panic is different to a score of 25 driven by safe haven flows alone.
→ Fix: Always look at the 7 inputs. Knowing what is driving the score gives you context.
Selling at neutral readings. Most of the time the index sits between 30 and 70 and gives no clear signal. Acting on a neutral reading is acting on noise.
→ Fix: Save your contrarian moves for the genuine extremes (below 25, above 75).
Ignoring the time spent at extremes. A one-day spike to extreme fear is much less meaningful than a week of extreme fear.
→ Fix: Check the history view. Look for persistent extremes, not single-day spikes.
Confusing sentiment with fundamentals. Sentiment tells you how investors feel. Fundamentals tell you whether companies are actually doing well. Both matter.
→ Fix: Use sentiment for timing context, fundamentals for what to own. They answer different questions.
How to use it as a contrarian signal 1 min read
The classic contrarian rule is “be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy”. The index puts a number on it.
Extreme fear (below 25): historically a better time to buy than the average day. The crowd is selling. Bad news is reflected in prices. This does not mean the bottom is in. It means the risk-reward of buying improves.
Extreme greed (above 75): historically a tougher time to buy. The crowd is buying. Good news is already in prices. New money is more likely to chase a top.
What this does not mean: sell everything at greed, buy everything at fear. The index is one input among many. Use it to size your conviction, not to override your plan.
Worked example: March 2020 fear extreme 2 min read
What the index showed at the COVID crash low
In mid-March 2020, as COVID lockdowns hit, the Fear and Greed Index fell to single digits. VIX spiked above 80, the highest reading since 2008. Stock breadth collapsed. Junk bond spreads blew out. Every one of the 7 inputs was in extreme fear territory.
On 23 March 2020, the S&P 500 closed at 2,237, down 34% from its February peak. The Fear and Greed Index hit a multi-year low. From that day, the market rallied roughly 75% over the following 12 months.
The lesson: Extreme fear at multi-year lows does not guarantee tomorrow is the bottom, but it does signal that the crowd is fully positioned for the worst. Contrarian buyers who scaled in during March 2020 were rewarded. The index alone did not call the bottom. It told you the crowd was at maximum pessimism, which historically improves the odds.
This is a fixed historical case study, refreshed periodically. For current readings, use the index above.
References
- CNN Business, “Fear and Greed Index methodology”. The original 7-input methodology this index follows.
- S&P 500 March 2020 closing prices verified against public data: 23 March 2020 close 2,237.40, February 19 2020 peak 3,386.15.
- Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) historical readings. Peak intraday level above 82 on 16 March 2020.
- Behavioral finance research on contrarian indicators. Reference: Damodaran, “Investment Valuation”, chapter on market sentiment.
- StockEducation sentiment data, sourced through public market data and refreshed daily after US market close.
Sentiment terms, defined in one line
Bookmark this. Every term you will see on the index or in sentiment commentary.
A 0 to 100 composite score showing current market sentiment. Below 25 = extreme fear, above 75 = extreme greed.
A signal used to act against the crowd. When sentiment is extreme, contrarians take the opposite side.
The S&P 500 volatility index. Often called the “fear gauge”. High VIX = expected big swings.
The moment when even long-term holders sell out of fear. Often near market bottoms.
How many stocks are participating in a move. Broad green = healthy. Narrow green = fragile.
An asset investors buy when they are afraid. US Treasuries and gold are classic safe havens.
Fear and Greed Index: frequently asked questions
Quick answers before using the index.
Is the Fear and Greed Index free?
How accurate is the index?
Should I use this to time the market?
What is considered “extreme fear”?
What is considered “extreme greed”?
How is the score calculated?
How is this different from CNN’s Fear and Greed Index?
Which market does this index describe?
Deepen your understanding
This tool is one research step. These articles teach the concepts behind it.
What is the VIX?
The market’s “fear gauge” explained
Why contrarian investing works
The behavioral finance research
How market bottoms feel
Capitulation, panic, and the turning point
Reading market breadth
Advance-decline lines explained
Put/call ratios for beginners
What options demand reveals
Safe haven assets
Gold, Treasuries, and the dollar
Sentiment vs fundamentals
When each one matters more
Behavioral biases in investing
Why we buy high and sell low
Keep researching
Use these tools to compare sentiment with actual market movement.
Sources & methodology
The Fear and Greed Index is built from 7 publicly available sentiment indicators sourced from US market data: VIX (Cboe), S&P 500 prices, NYSE breadth data, CBOE put/call ratios, junk bond spreads, stock-bond returns, and 52-week highs/lows. The score refreshes daily after the US market close.
Authoritative outbound sources:
- Cboe VIX, The volatility index used as one input
- CNN Business, The original Fear and Greed Index
- TradingView, Live price feed for the inputs
- AAII Sentiment Survey, Complementary retail sentiment data
- CFA Institute, Behavioral finance research
- Each of the 7 inputs is normalised to a 0 to 100 scale based on its historical range.
- The 7 normalised scores are averaged with equal weight.
- The composite score is refreshed daily after the US market close at 4:00 PM ET.
- Historical readings are stored daily for 10-year comparison and trend analysis.
Ready to check market sentiment?
Open the index to see whether the market is showing fear, greed or neutral conditions.
Check your understanding
Answer each question, then open the explanation.
1. Does a sentiment index directly establish a company’s fundamental value?
Show answer and why
Answer: No.
Why: Sentiment and company valuation are different questions.
2. What should you check before describing an index reading?
Show answer and why
Answer: Its methodology, timestamp and the measure displayed.
Why: Different sentiment measures and dates can produce different observations.
3. Does an extreme reading guarantee that the market will reverse next?
Show answer and why
Answer: No.
Why: It is an observation to investigate, not a guaranteed forecast.
AI responses are for educational purposes. Always verify with official course materials.
This lesson teaches a concept. It is general education, not advice about your money. Before you act on anything you learn here, speak to someone licensed.
AI responses are for educational purposes. Always verify with official course materials.
This lesson teaches a concept. It is general education, not advice about your money. Before you act on anything you learn here, speak to someone licensed.
This lesson teaches a concept. It is general education, not advice about your money. Before you act on anything you learn here, speak to someone licensed.
