Extreme Fear. Stocks Laugh.

Larry "Big Short" Burry BEARISH

Senior Doomer Analyst

"Former death metal drummer turned market doomsayer. Predicts crashes using tea leaves and charts. His glass eye sees the future, and it's always red."

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Fear & Greed at an ‘8’ screams panic while markets merrily gain. Someone’s fibbing.

(1) Today, the S&P 500 climbed by 0.77% to close at 6890.07, continuing its bounce after recent weakness with a third up day — clearly, someone’s feeling cocky. NASDAQ led the charge with a hefty 1.04% gain, suggesting tech might be over their existential crisis for now. Even Dow Jones and Russell 2000 joined in on the fun with gains of 0.76% and 1.2%, respectively. (2) Meanwhile, VIX dipped by nearly 7%, landing at a comfy yet slightly uneasy level of 19.6 — just when you thought everyone was on edge, the index says ‘not really’. The Fear & Greed Index is stuck at an ‘8’, indicating Extreme Fear even as stocks rally; it’s like watching someone scream during a fireworks show because they’re scared of colorful explosions. The market can’t decide whether to celebrate or cower under a table; maybe they’ve mistaken this bull run for a piñata party that ends in tears and candy loss? (3) Over in crypto land, Bitcoin slid by 0.9% while Ethereum barely budged at -0.1%. With BTC at $64,053, it seems digital gold is taking a breather while human investors are busy flipping coins over which way equities will tumble next week. Interestingly enough, despite today’s equity optimism, crypto couldn’t care less; perhaps it knows something we don’t about dollar inflation or Elon Musk’s next tweet? Here’s one data point nobody’s talking about: Moon Phase says waxing/waning — stars must be amused.

🔗 Related Larry’s Rants

• Extreme Fear. Market Shrugs.
• Dow’s Drowsy Drift: Snorefest Continues
• Market’s Identity Crisis Continues

(Update 2026: Check out our latest analysis Extreme Fear. Market Says Otherwise.)

💩 Loser of the Daily

(1) Palantir saw its shares slip by 1.35% today — just another day in paradise for data analytics dreamers turned perennial disappointers. (2) Their vision of becoming indispensable through big data AI wizardry remains as elusive as their profitable quarter fantasy; reality bites and so does competition from more focused players carving out real niches while PLTR talks big game without suiting up properly every time earnings season rolls around again… (3) But hey! At least they still have those shiny PowerPoint presentations — slide deck envy doesn’t pay dividends though.

🔮 The Crystal Ball