AAII pessimism climbs as investors turn more cautious
SPY•AAII’s latest survey found 45.8% of individual investors expected stocks to fall over the next six months, up 4.2 percentage points from last week. Bullish sentiment fell to 36.9%, and the bull-bear spread dropped to minus 8.9%.
1. Bearish views rise
The latest American Association of Individual Investors sentiment survey showed bearish sentiment rising 4.2 percentage points to 45.8%. It has remained above its 31.5% historical average for 37 straight weeks.
2. Bullish and neutral views slip
Bullish sentiment fell 1.9 percentage points to 36.9%, slightly below its 37.5% historical average. Neutral sentiment dropped 2.3 points to 17.3% and has been below its 31.0% average for 33 consecutive weeks. The bull-bear spread declined to minus 8.9% from minus 2.9% a week earlier, remaining below its 6.5% historical average for 14 consecutive weeks.
3. Views on inflation divided
In a special question, AAII asked members how inflation was affecting their portfolio decisions. Investors were divided nearly equally among the three primary responses.
