Investors were able to celebrate a happy new year in the market too, as 2010’s late-year rally carried over to January. For the first month of 2011, the S&P 500 gained nearly 2.3%. The S&P did finally break its streak of nine consecutive weeks of gains, which led to investor bullishness dipping below 50% for the first time since November. This drop was short-lived, however, as investor optimism is again on the rise.

Results as of February 3, 2011:

Bullish: 51.5%

Neutral: 21.6%

Bearish: 26.9%

To participate in the AAII Sentiment Survey, or to view historical survey results, click on the link below:

https://www.aaii.com/sentimentsurvey

Long-Term Average and Extreme Values

Bullish:

Average: 39.0%, Max: 75.0% (1/6/2000), Min: 12.0% (11/16/1990)

Neutral:

Average: 30.7%, Max: 62.0% (6/3/1988), Min: 7.7% (10/9/2008)

Bearish:

Average: 30.3%, Max: 70.3% (3/5/2009), Min: 6.0% (8/21/1987)