Main US indexes decline; Dow off ~1%
Materials weakest S&amp;P 500 sector; Energy leads gainers
Euro STOXX 600 index up ~0.6%
Dollar rallies; crude up ~1%; bitcoin down &gt;1.5%; gold slides &gt;7.5%
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INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS FOCUS ON THE ECONOMY AND/OR INFLATION - AAII Pessimism among individual investors over their short-term outlook for the U.S. stock market declined in the latest American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) Sentiment Survey. With this, both optimism and neutral sentiment were higher.
Meanwhile, just over one third of investors surveyed said that the “economy and/or inflation” is the factor most influencing their six-month outlook for stocks.
AAII reported that bearish sentiment, or expectations that stock prices will fall over the next six months, dipped 1.9 percentage points to 30.8%. Bearish sentiment is below its historical average of 31.0% for the sixth time in nine weeks.
Bullish sentiment, or expectations that stock prices will rise over the next six months, added 1.2 percentage points to 44.4%. Bullish sentiment is above its historical average of 37.5% for the ninth time in 12 weeks.
Neutral sentiment, or expectations that stock prices will stay essentially unchanged over the next six months, edged up 0.7 percentage points to 24.8%. Neutral sentiment is below its historical average of 31.5% for the 80th time in 82 weeks.
The bull-bear spread rose just over 3 percentage points to 13.6% from 10.5% last week. The spread is above its historical average of 6.5% for the 13th time in 52 weeks.
In this week’s special question, AAII asked its members which factor is most influencing their six-month outlook for stocks.
Here is AAII’s graphic showing how they responded:
(Terence Gabriel)
<h3>EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:</h3>
<h3>HOT PPI JUSTIFIES FED PAUSE, CHICAGO PMI EXPANDS FOR FIRST TIME IN OVER TWO YEARS US STOCKS EASE AS INVESTORS WEIGH NEW FED CHAIR PICK, LATEST EARNINGS CLICK HERE PRECIOUS METALS MINERS SET TO PLUMMET AMID VIOLENT GOLD/SILVER RATIO REVERSAL CLICK HERE</h3>
<h3>CHINA LUXURY: BRAND BY BRAND GOLD OPTIONS HIT CRISIS-ERA LEVELS AS PRICE TANKS CLICK HERE EURO APPRECIATION IS A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD FOR REGION’S STOCKS CLICK HERE EARNINGS LIFT STOXX, BUT MINERS SINK CLICK HERE EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: POSITIVE EARNINGS SWEETEN THE MOOD CLICK HERE BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WARSH FOR CLICK HERE</h3>
AAII01302026
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<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/buzz/xmvjqdwjrpr/AAIISQ01302026.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" width="1199" height="682" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/buzz/xmvjqdwjrpr/AAIISQ01302026.png"/>

Main US indexes decline with the Dow down ~1%. The materials sector is the weakest in the S&P 500, while energy leads gainers. The Euro STOXX 600 index is up ~0.6%. Individual investors' pessimism about the short-term outlook for the US stock market has decreased, with bullish sentiment rising to 44.4%. Over one-third of investors cite the economy and inflation as key factors influencing their six-month outlook. Bearish sentiment is at 30.8%, below the historical average. The bull-bear spread increased to 13.6%.

- Main US indexes declined, with the Dow down approximately 1%, while materials were the weakest S&P 500 sector and energy led the gainers.  
- Individual investor pessimism about the short-term U.S. stock market outlook fell, with bullish sentiment rising to 44.4%, above the historical average.  
- Key economic factors influencing investor sentiment include inflation and the economy, with bearish sentiment at 30.8% and neutral sentiment at 24.8%.

LIVE MARKETS-Individual investors focus on the economy and/or inflation - AAII