Market sentiment recovers slightly this week, shows new AAII data

Market sentiment bounced back a little after falling for two consecutive weeks, according to a survey by the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII).

Bullish sentiment as per the weekly AAII investor sentiment survey [https://www.aaii.com/sentimentsurvey] rose to 30.8% for the week ending August 20, compared to 29.9% in the prior update. Bearish sentiment as per the survey fell to 44.8% this week, versus 46.2% last week.

Investors remained cautious amid the constant flow of tariff-related news from the Trump administration. Meanwhile, inflation data showing that wholesale costs rose more than expected and earnings reports from retail giants including Target (TGT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TGT]) and Walmart (WMT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WMT]) did little to calm sentiments.

Going forward, the focus will be on Fed Chair Jerome Powell as the market looks for clues on whether he’s ready to signal the start of rate cuts or stick with a wait-and-see stance.

According to AAII, neutral sentiment, or expectations that stock prices will stay essentially unchanged over the next six months, showed slight change during the week, with the figure standing at 24.4%, compared to 24% last week.

The survey has been conducted by the American Association of Individual Investors since 1987, in which it asks respondents for their thoughts on where the market is heading in the next six months.

S&P 500 Tracking Funds: (MUTF:FXAIX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FXAIX#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (MUTF:VFIAX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VFIAX#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (MUTF:VFFSX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VFFSX#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (MUTF:SWPPX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SWPPX#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:SPY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SPY#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:VOO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VOO#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:IVV [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IVV#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:RSP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RSP#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:SSO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SSO#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:SH [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SH#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:SDS) and (NYSEARCA:SPXU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SPXU#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]).

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