Bearish investor sentiment as measured by the American Association of Individual Investors reached a high of 60.6%, just before the S&P 500 experienced its worst day of 2025 and second-worst March trading day ever on Monday.
What Happened: As highlighted by Ryan Detrick, the chief market strategist at Carson Research in his latest note, the bearish sentiment rose more than 60%, for the week ended Feb. 26. This was the seventh highest time in history since the poll was started in 1987.
Additionally, the 60.6% bearish reading was the highest in 30 months since September 2022 and is the third-highest reading over the last 10 years, as highlighted by LPL Financial in their note.
Detrick observed the historical data and suggested a potential contrarian buying opportunity. He noted that, on average, stocks have risen approximately 28% in the year following periods when bearish …
