(Bloomberg) -- Individual investors are pessimistic that the US stock market can bounce back after stumbling in April with inflation remaining stickier than expected and economic growth stalling.

After more than five months of mostly robust optimism, the closely watched bull-bear spread from the weekly American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) survey flipped to negative for the first time since early November, when stocks were climbing out of an October bottom. The -1.8 reading means investors with a bearish view on equities over the next six months just barely outpaced those with a more optimistic view. However, the drop in bullishness has accelerated in recent weeks.

It’s worth noting that respondents polled in the survey are mostly split on what’s next for stocks. The percentage of investors with a bearish view was flat at roughly 34%. The skew was driven by an increase in respondents with a neutral view, which rose to 34% from 28%, while those with bullish view fell to the lowest level since November.

The rising uncertainty comes as the market deals with slowing US economic growth, stickier than expected inflation and traders betting that interest rate cuts won’t come until the end of 2024 and will be far smaller than the flurry predicted earlier this year. The S&P 500 is down 4.7% since its record close at the end of March, though the benchmark remains up 5% this year.

Despite the weakness, data from Interactive Brokers Group Inc. showed clients continued their to snap up shares in tech heavyweights. Retail traders pushed into favorites like Nvidia Corp., Tesla Inc., and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., a Tuesday report showed.

“In case you were wondering whether ‘buy-the-dip’ remains foremost in our customers’ mindsets, rest assured that it’s still firmly in place,” Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, wrote in the report. 

Meanwhile, a separate survey from the National Association of Active Investment Managers, which tracks advisers from 200 firms, shows managers tapered their equity exposure to 63% on average in the week through April 17. That’s the lowest for the bi-weekly reading since mid-January.

Here’s more on the AAII spread:

  • AAII bull-bear spread dipped to -1.8 from 4.3 last week
  • Bulls slip to 32.1% from 38.3%
  • Neutrals rise to 33.9% from 27.8%
  • Bears remain flat at ~34%
  • See AAIIBULL GP, AAIIBEAR GP, AAIINEUT GP, .AAIIBB GP

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.