By Hardika Singh
After a summer stock rally, the bears are back. At least according to one measure.
Bearish sentiment--or the expectation that stocks will fall over the next six months--rose to 35.9%, according to the latest American Association of Individual Investors survey. That marks the first weekly jump after 11 straight weeks of readings below the average of 31%.
Meanwhile, bullish sentiment, represented as the expectation that stocks will rise in the next six months, fell to 32.3%.
Of course, investor sentiment is often considered a contrarian indicator. When bearish or bullish sentiment goes to extreme levels, sooner or later the market tends to move in the opposite direction.
All three major U.S. stock indexes are down so far this month, but still up for the year.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 24, 2023 14:16 ET (18:16 GMT)
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