US consumers are becoming more bullish of stocks: The share of US consumers expecting higher stock prices over the next 12 months rose to 47.9% in May, the 11th highest reading on record. After a ~20 percentage point decline in the first 4 months of the year, this percentage rebounded ~10 points over the last 3 months. Furthermore, the share of consumers expecting lower stock prices has dropped by ~18 percentage points to 28.7%, in line with the long-term average. Current levels of optimism are now higher than the pre-Dot-Com Bubble peak in 2000. Bullish sentiment is incredibly strong.