U.S. stock markets have faced significant downturns this year, severely impacting Wall Street and deteriorating investor sentiment. The American Association of Individual Investors' survey reveals a persistent bearish outlook, with over 50% of respondents expressing pessimism for the fifth consecutive week. According to Bespoke Investment Group, this marks the second-longest streak of bearish sentiment since the survey began in 1987.
Concerns about economic growth and inflation have been exacerbated by tariffs imposed by Donald Trump on major trade partners. These measures could potentially hinder economic progress and reignite inflationary pressures. The survey aims to gauge active individual investors' attitudes towards the stock market over the next six months.
Recently, various investor groups have shown increasing pessimism towards the U.S. stock market. Earlier this week, data from Goldman Sachs indicated that hedge funds have reached their highest net selling of U.S. equities in seven weeks, with short selling surpassing long buying.
