Fear & Greed Index
6-Signal Composite • Live Market Sentiment
A composite score built from 6 real-time market signals — not just VIX. Score 0 = extreme fear, score 100 = extreme greed. Updated every 15 minutes during market hours.
How the Score is Calculated
Volatility (VIX vs 50-day avg)
VIX is compared to its own 50-day average, not a fixed level. A VIX spike above its recent baseline registers as fear even if the absolute number looks low.
Short-term Momentum (SPY 10-day)
SPY's 10-day return. Catches market dumps fast — a sharp -4% week reads as fear immediately, unlike long-term averages that take weeks to shift.
Market Trend (SPY vs 50-day MA)
SPY vs its 50-day moving average. More reactive than the 125-day — when the market starts breaking down, the 50d MA cracks first, catching the shift from greed to fear faster.
Safe Haven Demand (5-day)
TLT (20-yr treasuries) vs SPY 5-day return. Short window reacts within days — when bonds outperform stocks over just one week, that's a real flight to safety.
Junk Bond Demand (5-day)
HYG (high yield) vs LQD (investment grade) 5-day return. When junk bonds are lagging IG, credit stress is building — a leading fear signal.
Market Breadth (10-day)
IWM (Russell 2000 small caps) vs SPY. Small caps get hit first in risk-off environments. When IWM lags SPY, investors are fleeing smaller, riskier companies — that's fear. Composite = equal average of all 6 signals.
Using Fear & Greed for Trading
- • Extreme Fear (0–25): Often marks market bottoms — contrarian buy zone for long-term traders
- • Fear (25–45): Risk-off environment; reduce position size, tighten stops
- • Neutral (45–55): No strong edge from sentiment; rely on individual setups
- • Greed (55–75): Momentum environment; breakout setups tend to work better
- • Extreme Greed (75–100): Complacency; watch for reversal signals, thin margin of safety
- • Never use sentiment alone — always confirm with price action and your setup criteria
DISCLAIMER: The Fear & Greed Index is for informational purposes only and does not predict market direction. Past patterns of fear/greed readings do not guarantee future performance. Always use proper risk management.