A majority of American adults — 54 percent — are bullish on the U.S. stock market for 2017 and almost four in 10 say they anticipate being in a better financial situation during the upcoming year than they are now.
The latest Bloomberg National Poll shows growing optimism about the U.S. economy following the election of billionaire businessman Donald Trump as president, with positive feelings about the nation’s financial direction among his supporters.
“It seems like it will be more business-friendly,” said Anna Wheelahan, 49, a data entry worker for a golf equipment company who voted for Trump and lives in Mission Viejo, Calif. “People will feel more confident spending their dollars because they will feel safer about their jobs.”
Asked about their 2017 outlook, 38 percent say they expect a better financial year compared with 14 percent who say they’ll be worse off and 45 percent who say their personal fortunes will remain about the same. That’s higher than in December 2012, following President Barack Obama’s re-election, when 31 percent said they were more optimistic for the following year.
“For the past eight years, questions about how the economy is doing have been driven by partisan views,” said pollster J. Ann Selzer, who oversaw the survey. “Republicans were all but in denial about job growth and improvement in the stock market. It will be interesting to see if Hillary Clinton supporters and Democrats follow suit.”
Americans anticipating higher household income outnumbered those expecting a decline — 39 percent to 10 percent — while a plurality of 45 percent say they expect their situation to be unchanged. The labor market, where the 4.6 percent unemployment rate reflects a 0.4 percentage point drop during the past year, remains a worry even amid job gains.
Unemployment and jobs is the top issue picked by Americans when presented with seven choices. More than a quarter — 26 percent — selected it as their biggest concern, followed by health care at 20 percent and terrorism at 15 percent.
The proportion of poll participants picking jobs and the economy as their top issue was as high as 50 percent in December 2010, as the nation’s economy struggled to bounce back from the recession.
Asked whether the stock market will be higher or lower at the end of 2017 than it is now, 54 percent said higher, 24 percent said lower, nine percent said about the same and 12 percent weren’t sure.
“It’s going to have an uptick for the next year,” said Scott Carlson, 54, a health insurance company team manager who lives in Tampa, Fla. “I don’t know if it will last beyond that, but that’s my general feeling.”
It should be noted, Selzer said, that most poll participants aren’t stock experts.
“We’re asking them whether they are optimistic or pessimistic about the market,” she said. “They are giving us a sense of their mood. It’s a snapshot in time of how they feel today.”
