Optimism over stocks fizzles as market range-bound – MarketWatch

Optimism over stocks fizzles as market range-bound – MarketWatch

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Just waiting for the market to wake up…

Enthusiasm for stocks by retail investors—a group as diverse as the retired schoolteacher in Peoria to the day trader in Miami—is becoming progressively more subdued as the stock market remains mostly range-bound, according to a survey by the American Association of Individual Investors.

Bullish sentiment, measured by the number of respondents who believe the market will rise in the next 6 months, fell to 30.8% in the week ended April 29 from 31.5% in the previous period, marking a fifth straight decline.

S&P 500 vs bullish sentiment level

During the same one-week period, the number of investors who are neutral rose to 47.2% from 45.3% while bearish investors slid to 22% from 23.2%.

The eight-week moving average of the bullish sentiment gauge has also been steadily dropping since middle of February, according to AAII.

The S&P 500 SPX, -1.01%  is off 1% this week after moving in a relatively narrow range. Uncertainties over when the Federal Reserve will start tightening its monetary policy, Greece’s inability to quickly resolve its financial woes and worries about the strong dollar’s impact on corporate earnings are all weighing on sentiment despite ample market liquidity.

Chief Executive Fred Tomczyk of TD Ameritrade told CNBC that retail investors are fully invested in stocks, judging by high levels of margin loans, low client cash and frequent logins by account holders at the firm.

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Optimism over stocks fizzles as market range-bound – MarketWatch

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