Investors are showing weak confidence in the U.S. stock market index even after a rally this month, with most believing the market has yet to bottom out because of concerns about corporate earnings, Bloomberg reported.

That’s the view of about 70% of the agency’s 383 respondents. At the same time, 35% said that the market will fall to a minimum in the second half of this year. Less than a quarter of respondents believe that the bottom has already been reached.

The survey results indicate that investors remain in deep turmoil after last year’s stock collapse. At the same time, they expect corporate earnings to deteriorate due to an expected slowdown in the global economy.

Almost half of respondents said the key factor for the U.S. stock market today will be quarterly reports from several companies, rather than the Federal Reserve’s decision or a speech by its head, Jerome Powell. The Fed is expected to raise the benchmark rate by just a quarter of a percentage point on Feb. 1, the smallest increase in almost a year.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index is up 6% since the start of 2023. That’s the best reading for January since 2019, as signs of slowing inflation and economic growth spurred expectations that the Fed is nearing the end of its tightening cycle. But the most aggressive rate hikes in decades, combined with rising prices and wages, have created a challenging environment for corporations to ramp up profits.

About 90% of respondents expect inflation to continue to weaken this year but remain above the Fed’s target of 2%. Analysts expect U.S. economic activity to decline in the second and third quarters.

Traders in the bond market expect the economic picture to be so disappointing that the Fed will have to cut rates later this year. At the same time, based on futures quotations, it will be raised to about 5% per annum by the middle of the year.

That contrasts with statements by Fed officials that the central bank would raise rates above 5% rather than lower them this year.

Earlier, we reported that Adani Group’s losses were gaining catastrophic momentum.