AAII pessimism eases; investors still favor equities
SPY•AAII bearish sentiment fell 7.5 percentage points to 39.0%, while bullish sentiment rose 5.6 points to 40.3%. More than half of respondents said they are directing new cash into equity market vehicles or individual stocks.
1. Sentiment shifts
In the latest American Association of Individual Investors sentiment survey, bearish sentiment fell 7.5 percentage points to 39.0%, while bullish sentiment rose 5.6 points to 40.3%. Neutral sentiment increased 1.9 points to 20.8%. Bearish sentiment remained above its 31.5% historical average for a 35th consecutive week, while bullish sentiment moved above its 37.5% average for the third time in six weeks.
2. New cash allocations
More than half of survey respondents said they are putting new cash from dividends, distributions or asset sales into equity market vehicles or individual stocks. The bull-bear spread rose 13.1 percentage points to 1.3%, but remained below its 6.5% historical average for a 12th straight week.
