A new survey polling investors in the U.S., Hong Kong and Japan suggests that clients do not believe the resignation of leaders in Italy and Greece – along with proposed measures by Euro zone officials – will halt the European debt crisis.
In fact, 63 percent of U.S. respondents to the Monex Global Retail Investor survey, carried out by TradeStation Securities, Inc., say that turmoil over Europe’s sovereign debt will continue for at least another year. The survey’s most experienced traders take an even dimmer view, with 68 percent saying that resolution is at least a year away.
Monex has been conducting its monthly retail investor survey with its Japanese clients since October 2009. The survey started in June 2011 and is conducted on a quarterly basis.
Despite pessimistic expectations for resolution of the European debt crisis, respondents are showing optimism about certain industry sectors. A majority of customers expect energy, technology, utilities and basic materials to be attractive over the next three months. Their expectations are lowest for real estate, autos, conglomerates and financial services. U.S. stocks, say a majority of customers, will outperform stocks in Europe/U.K., Asia (excluding Japan) and Japan. Nearly half of all US respondents said the U.S. dollar would outperform the Euro and Japanese yen over the next three months.
The report uses the Diffusion Index to assess investor sentiment. (DI = percentage of positive responses – percentage of negative responses)