AAII Sentiment Survey: Optimism Continues to Rise

by AAII Staff | November 16, 2023

Optimism among individual investors about the short-term outlook for stocks continued to rise in the latest AAII Sentiment Survey. Meanwhile, pessimism slightly increased.

Bullish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will rise over the next six months, increased 1.2 percentage points to 43.8%. Optimism is above its historical average of 37.5% for the fourth time in 14 weeks.

Neutral sentiment, expectations that stock prices will stay essentially unchanged over the next six months, decreased 2.1 percentage points to 28.1%. Neutral sentiment is below its historical average of 31.5% for the eighth time in 11 weeks.

Bearish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will fall over the next six months, increased 0.9 percentage points to 28.1%. Pessimism is below its historical average of 31.0% for the fourth time in 11 weeks.

The bull-bear spread (bullish minus bearish sentiment) increased 0.3 percentage points to 15.7%. The bull-bear spread is above its historical average of 6.4% for the third time in 11 weeks.

This week’s special question asked AAII members what their perception was of third-quarter earnings. Here are the responses:

  • They approximately matched my expectations: 47.5%
  • They were better than I expected: 29.3%
  • They were worse than I expected: 6.0%
  • Not sure/No opinion: 17.0%


This week’s Sentiment Survey results:

Bullish: 43.8%, up 1.2 points
Neutral: 28.1%, down 2.1 points
Bearish: 28.1%, up 0.9 points

Historical averages:

Bullish: 37.5%
Neutral: 31.5%
Bearish: 31.0%

See more Sentiment Survey results.




Discussion

KEVIN S from CA posted over 2 years ago:

But for the "manic panic" seven'ish megacaps and their bad AI joke siblings known as semiconductors, we are in a solidly downtrending market. Play with fire, get burned.


You need to log in as a registered AAII user before commenting.
Create an account

Log In
Join a select group of investors who benefit from our educational mission. Sign up to receive exclusive AAII content to achieve your financial goals. Plus, receive the bonus special report:
"Profitable Retirement Planning"
100% Privacy Guaranteed.