This collaboration between NZSA and University of Canterbury (UC) Business School is part of our mission to promote a thriving market and to be the voice of investors. A sentiment index will contribute to the understanding of investor behaviour and the overall market and allow you to get first access to the data and make better-informed investment decisions.
Have your say!
Each week, a random selection of NZSA members are sent an email to complete the survey. If you wish to participate in the NZ Investor Sentiment Index Survey anyway, you can click on this link anytime – also contained in each Briefing newsletter. The sentiment survey is conducted weekly from Thursday 12:01am to Wednesday 11:45pm.
This Week’s Results:
This week’s commentary – August 13th, 2026
New Zealand stock market sentiment
Neutral sentiment decreased, while bullish sentiment and bearish sentiment increased, leaving bullish responses as the largest group.
- Bullish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will rise over the next six months, increased by 13.6 percentage points to 63.6%.
- Neutral sentiment, expectations that stock prices will essentially stay unchanged over the next six months, decreased by 19.3 percentage points to 18.2%.
- Bearish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will fall over the next six months, increased by 5.7 percentage points to 18.2%.
New Zealand sector level sentiment
At the sector level, bullish sentiment increased in three of eight sectors and decreased in five of eight sectors. Neutral sentiment increased in four of eight sectors and decreased in four of eight sectors. Bearish sentiment increased in five of eight sectors and decreased in three of eight sectors.
- The level of optimism among individual investors is highest for health care (54.5%), followed by financials (45.5%) and primary sector, energy, industrials, and IT (all at 36.4%). The level of optimism is lowest for real estate (9.1%), followed by consumer discretionary (18.2%) and primary sector, energy, industrials, and IT (all at 36.4%).
- The level of neutral sentiment is highest for primary sector, energy, financials, IT, and real estate (all at 45.5%), followed by consumer discretionary (36.4%) and industrials (27.3%). Neutral sentiment is lowest for health care (18.2%), followed by industrials (27.3%) and consumer discretionary (36.4%).
- The level of pessimism is highest for consumer discretionary and real estate (both at 45.5%), followed by industrials (36.4%) and health care (27.3%). Pessimism is lowest for financials (9.1%), followed by primary sector, energy, and IT (all at 18.2%) and health care (27.3%).
International sentiment
For Australian stocks, bullish sentiment decreased, while neutral sentiment and bearish sentiment increased. For U.S. stocks, bullish sentiment decreased, while neutral sentiment and bearish sentiment increased. The two markets moved in the same direction across the three sentiment categories.
- Bullish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will rise over the next six months, decreased by 23.6 percentage points to 36.4% for Australian stocks and decreased by 10.3 percentage points to 36.4% for U.S. stocks.
- Neutral sentiment, expectations that stock prices will stay flat over the next six months, increased by 9.7 percentage points to 36.4% for Australian stocks and increased by 7.3 percentage points to 27.3% for U.S. stocks.
- Bearish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will fall over the next six months, increased by 13.9 percentage points to 27.3% for Australian stocks and increased by 3.0 percentage points to 36.4% for U.S. stocks.
New Zealand personal investment sentiment
If investors were to purchase equity, the proportions of investors planning to increase their investment in small cap shares and funds, and expressing uncertainty about their equity allocation increased compared to last week. Conversely, the proportions of investors planning to increase their investment in large cap shares and anticipating no change in their equity allocation decreased compared to last week.
- The proportion of investors anticipating an increase in their small cap shares increased by 0.6 percentage points to 27.3% this week if they were to purchase equity.
- The proportion of investors anticipating an increase in their large cap shares decreased by 10.9 percentage points to 9.1% this week if they were to purchase equity.
- The proportion of investors anticipating an increase in their funds increased by 9.7 percentage points to 36.4% this week if they were to purchase equity.
- The proportion of investors anticipating no change in their equity allocation decreased by 1.8 percentage points to 18.2% this week if they were to purchase equity.
- The proportion of investors who express uncertainty about their equity allocation increased by 2.4 percentage points to 9.1% this week if they were to purchase equity.
Historic Data
There have been wide variations since the survey began (January 2020) in Investor Sentiment. The following chart shows:
- the lowest recorded response for each type of sentiment (the lower ‘whisker’)
- the recorded responses between 25th – 75th percentile (the ‘box’)
- the median response score – ie, exactly 50% of scores are above and below this number
- the maximum response (excluding ‘outliers’)
- Interestingly, NZ Investors have displayed a greater tendency towards expressing “negative” (bearish) sentiment since the survey’s inception.