Sentiment Indicator

The stock market seems like it's about nothing but hard data. Numbers. Things like economic statistics and corporate earnings figures. Just hard-nosed, uncaring Vulcans in suits digesting numbers and making logical decisions based on computer-driven, analytical, algorithm-determined evidence.

Actually...Wall Street has a lot of feels. But being hard-nosed, uncaring Vulcans (or at least seeing themselves that way), people on Wall Street don't want to admit how squishy trading decisions can get. They don't want to come out and say that a lot of what they do is driven by phycology and primal instincts, like fear and greed.

So they don't call it "feelings." They call it "sentiment." And they try to attach numbers to them. Sentiment indicators.

These indicators try to measure overall market sentiment...basically showing how bearish or bullish the market is. They quantify the overall vibe on Wall Street, putting a number on the general group feeling. Er, sentiment.