Investors expect markets to go bullish

MoneyShow.com, a multimedia online community featuring commentary, videos, Webcasts, and blogs from experts and leading thinkers in the investing and trading worlds, released its latest Investors’ Sentiment Indicator. The Sentiment indicator revealed that investors become more optimistic than several months ago. Thus, 57% of investors polled express bullish sentiments, compared with 47% in February 2009. So, one might say, investor confidence in U.S. markets and the economy is strengthening.

The MoneyShow.com Investors’ Sentiment Indicator surveyed all in all 742 investors between May 4 and May 7, 2009. Of those polled, 31% expect increase of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index less than 10% by the end of year 2009. 26% of investors polled expect the index to rise 10% or more. 

According to the study results, commodities are still investors’ favorite asset class for 2009. 38% of investors expect better performance of commodities this year (almost the same result as in February, 2009, which is 39%). Alongside with commodities investors prefer small U.S. stocks (24%), large U.S. stocks (15%) and foreign stocks (11%). 

As regards inflation, 45% expect it to rise this year, but at the same time more than 84% don’t see the end of the U.S. recession until 2010 or later. U.S. housing market is expected to bottom in 2010 by 45% of the investors polled, while 30% see a bottom this year, and 25% expect bottom after 2010.

According to 44% of investors polled market will not make big moves in future. 37% of investors are “bears”, believing that market will go down and finally almost 20% think that bottom was in March 2009.