Optimism among individual investors about the short-term direction of stock prices is at a three-month low according to the latest AAII Sentiment Survey. Pessimism is at a 10-week high, and neutral sentiment is higher as well. Bullish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will rise over the next six months, fell 5.0 percentage points to 22.3%….
This week’s Sentiment Survey special question asked AAII members what their comfort level is with the current valuations of stocks. Slightly more than one out of four respondents (26%) view stock prices as being overvalued. An additional 22% said that they are either uncomfortable with current valuations or that stocks are somewhat overvalued. The lack…
This week’s Sentiment Survey special question asked AAII members what they thought about corporate inversions. Nearly 31% of respondents said that Congress should change the tax code. Several in this group said reform should include lower taxes or measures to ban or discourage more inversions. Others in this group expressed their dislike for inversions, but…
This week’s Sentiment Survey special question asked AAII members what one thing they would change about the environment if they had a magic wand. More than one out of three (35%) of respondents said politics, particularly the election, taxes (many want to see reform), regulation and fiscal policy. Monetary policy was listed by 13% of…
This week’s Sentiment Survey special question asked AAII members what factors are currently most influencing their six-month outlook for stocks. More than one out every four respondents (27%) mentioned the presidential election. (One member described it as “the craziest presidential election in my lifetime.”) The domestic economy was second, listed both positively and negatively by…
This week’s Sentiment Survey special question asked AAII members for their opinion about the recent rebound in stock prices that began in mid-February. There was no consensus. The largest group of respondents (22%) said that the rebound will not last. Several respondents in this group described the rebound as a temporary occurrence or a bear…
This week’s Sentiment Survey special question asked AAII members what type of impact they perceive monetary policy to be having on the stock market. More than one out of three respondents (37%) said that the Federal Reserve is having a negative impact. Several (12% of all respondents) believe that continued low interest rates are artificially…
This week’s Sentiment Survey special question asked AAII members how, if at all, oil prices are impacting their outlook for the stock market in general. Responses were varied. Slightly more than one out of four respondents (27%) said oil prices were not impacting their outlook for the stock market. Approximately 20% view oil and stock…
This week’s Sentiment Survey special question asked AAII members how fourth-quarter earnings have influenced their outlook for stock prices. One out of three respondents said fourth-quarter earnings did not influence or have only had a minor influence on their outlook for stocks. Many of these respondents said they are more focused on other factors, while…
This month’s Asset Allocation Survey special question asked AAII members what type of account they prefer to use for their cash. More than four out of 10 respondents (43%) said money market accounts or money market funds. Checking and savings accounts (both at banks and at credit unions) were the next most popular type of…
