Those Who Usually Don't Know Think It's Time To Buy Stocks

(WASHINGTON, D.C. September 24)--"Even people who normally say they have no idea whether it is a good or bad time to buy stocks have gotten the word this week. They think that either for patriotic purposes--or because the major indices have fallen to prices last seen in 1998--now is a great time to add stocks to their portfolios. In four Ipsos-Reid polls conducted since the bubble burst in the Spring of 2000, the range of bulls has been between 44% to 53% saying it is a good time now to buy stocks. Today, 64% say it is a good time to buy stocks," reports Riehle. "Over that same period, bearish sentiment has been in a range between 25% and 33% saying it is a bad time to buy stocks. Today, the same number are bearish--30% in this weekend's poll say now is a bad time to buy stocks."

"What has changed is the number saying they do not know if it is a good time or bad time to buy stocks. The number who don't know has ranged from 18% to 28% in previous polling, but in this weekend's poll it dropped to just 5%. People who used to say they did not know if it was wise or not to buy stocks suddenly have an opinion, and it is a bullish one. That is no doubt a temporary effect caused by media attention, patriotism and the drop in stock prices. The fence-sitters may not pay as much attention to the market as bulls and bears do, but they heard all that, and they think now is the time to buy," Riehle says.

Between Friday, September 21 and Sunday, September 23, 2001, Ipsos-Reid Express interviewed a representative sample of 1000 adults nationwide by telephone. Results are accurate within a margin of error of 3.1%.

Contact: Thomas Riehle (Tel.) 202-463-7300