What is the Sokbo Index?

The Sokbo Index is a macro-focused market sentiment indicator that combines 6 key economic factors: Fed Stance (20%), Credit Spreads (20%), DXY Movement (15%), Yield Curve (15%), VIX (15%), and S&P 500 Momentum (15%). It provides a 0-100 score indicating market conditions from Extreme Fear to Extreme Greed.

How does Fed policy affect financial markets?

Federal Reserve monetary policy significantly impacts all financial markets. Lower interest rates typically support risk assets like stocks and real estate, while rate hikes can cause sell-offs. The Sokbo platform analyzes Fed stance, yield curves, and credit spreads to help investors understand these dynamics.

What data sources does Sokbo use?

Sokbo aggregates data from trusted sources including FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) for economic indicators, ICE/BofA Indices for credit spreads, CBOE for VIX volatility data, and Claude AI for sentiment analysis and insight generation.

When are daily briefings delivered?

Sokbo delivers daily market briefings to your inbox at 6:30 AM ET, giving you macro analysis and market insights before your day begins.

Sokbo

How Sokbo Index Works

A comprehensive macro sentiment indicator using 6 key economic factors inspired by Fed, Goldman Sachs, and CNN methodologies

The Formula

The Sokbo Index combines best practices from professional financial conditions indices (Fed FCI-G, Goldman Sachs FCI, CNN Fear & Greed) into a single macro sentiment score. Higher weights are given to factors with stronger predictive power.

Fed

20%

Credit

20%

DXY

15%

Yield

15%

VIX

15%

S&P 500

15%

Each factor is normalized to a 0-100 scale before combining

Macro Factors

Fed Stance

20%

Federal Reserve policy outlook derived from the Fed funds rate. Low rates signal accommodative policy (greed), high rates signal tight policy (fear).

Credit Spreads

20%

ICE BofA High Yield Index spread vs Treasuries. Tight spreads indicate risk appetite (greed), wide spreads signal flight to quality (fear). Has predicted every US recession since the 1970s.

DXY Movement

15%

Trade-weighted US Dollar Index momentum. A strengthening dollar typically signals risk-off sentiment across global markets.

Yield Curve

15%

Treasury yield spread (10Y-2Y). Inverted curves signal recession risk (fear); steepening suggests economic recovery (greed).

VIX

15%

CBOE Volatility Index measures expected market volatility. Low VIX indicates complacency (greed), elevated VIX correlates with fear.

S&P 500 Momentum

15%

S&P 500 price momentum based on recent performance. Positive momentum signals bullish conditions (greed), negative momentum signals bearish conditions (fear).

Sentiment Classification

The final index value maps to five sentiment levels, helping you quickly assess market conditions:

Extreme Fear

0-24—Panic selling, capitulation likely

Fear

25-44—Bearish sentiment, caution warranted

Neutral

45-55—Balanced market, range-bound conditions

Greed

56-75—Bullish sentiment, momentum building

Extreme Greed

76-100—Euphoria, potential correction ahead

Data Sources

We aggregate data from trusted sources to ensure accuracy and timeliness:

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)
Official source for Fed funds rate, treasury yields, DXY, S&P 500, and economic indicators
ICE/BofA Indices
High-yield and investment-grade corporate bond spread data via FRED
CBOE
VIX volatility index measuring expected S&P 500 volatility
Claude AI
Anthropic Claude for sentiment analysis, news classification, and insight generation

Disclaimer: The Sokbo Index is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.