Q1 2026 Trader Client Sentiment Survey
More than half of traders are bullish on the stock market, although bullish sentiment is down five percentage points from the end of 2025.
Key findings
- Bullish market sentiment dropped the most among young traders compared to other age groups.
- The Energy, Utilities, and Materials sectors have the most bullish sentiment among traders with Information Technology sentiment dropping the most of any sector since Q4 2025.
- Traders are most bullish on growth, AI, and value stocks in Q1 2026, although sentiment in AI stocks has dropped since Q4 2025.
- Although there is concern over the weakening of the stock market, many traders (47%) are risk-seeking, with 83% likely to “buy the dip” if the market declines over the next 3 months.
About the survey
The Charles Schwab Trader Sentiment Survey is a quarterly study exploring the outlooks, expectations, trading patterns and points of view of clients at Charles Schwab–who actively trade equities or trade options, futures, or forex. The study included 2,121 Active Trader clients at Charles Schwab and was fielded from January 20th – January 27th.
Media Contact: Margaret Farrell
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