Across US stocks and related themes, net sentiment remains mildly bullish but fell to +0.17 from +0.35 a week ago, even as the number of experts with calls rose from 80 to 131.
The broad US market remains bullish but cooled sharply; tech sentiment edged lower, while small-cap experts are evenly split.
Michael Batnick, Ed Carson and Jim Cramer switched from bearish to bullish: Batnick saw no case for broad bearishness, Carson saw room for further gains, and Cramer cautioned against trying to time the market.
- “I don't think now is the time to get bearish.”Michael Batnick · The Compound and Friends · 2026-10-13 · Listen
- “we could definitely go a lot higher”Ed Carson · Stock Market Today With IBD · 2026-10-15 · Listen
- “Never try to make a judgment of the market because we're thinking the market is going to go up over time.”Jim Cramer · Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer · 2026-10-16 · Listen
Going the other way, Ben Carlson switched to bearish over the risk of an AI-related selloff, while Jim Bianco switched to bearish because he expects Fed uncertainty to raise the market risk premium.
- “there's probably going to be like a 30% swift bear market because some hiccup in AI.”Ben Carlson · Animal Spirits Podcast · 2026-10-14 · Listen
- “there is going to be a higher risk premium in the market”Jim Bianco · Monetary Matters with Jack Farley · 2026-10-18 · Listen
Karen Finerman said inflation, tariffs and AI investment favor large companies, while Steve Chiavarone backed small caps on a healthy economy, despite the even split among small-cap experts.
- “this is a time that favors large companies”Karen Finerman · CNBC's "Fast Money" · 2026-10-15 · Listen
- “We think small caps, having gotten past that with an economy that's doing relatively well, will be positioned to continue to lead.”Steve Chiavarone · UBS On-Air: Market Moves · 2026-10-14 · Listen
As of 2026-10-18.