| 05 August 2009

How will the markets perform in the coming months? It depends who you ask. When 450 traders at Zecco were asked about the stock market last week 72 percent of them said the Dow Jones Industrial average would definitely rise in the next six months. And 42 percent of those surveyed expected the Dow to rise more than 10 percent.

The American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) released their monthly investor survey results two weeks ago and provided a stark contrast to the glass three-quarters full view at Zecco.

Bullish Sentiment in the AAII survey fell to 28 percent, well below the long-term average of 39 percent. Bearish sentiment, meanwhile, rose dramatically to 55 percent, well above its long term average of 30 percent.

Zecco offers free stock trading for self-directed investors and as such its no surprise that optimistic traders gather around the Zecco pool. AAII, on the other hand, has always offered a balanced, longer-term view of the markets and their content makes regular appearances at investment club gatherings and in the form of workbooks and newsletters.