Longer Market Hours Not a Top Priority

Apparently, most individual investors aren’t any more interested in extended trading hours than the stock exchanges themselves.

According to a survey of investor sentiment taken by PaineWebber Group and the Gallup Organization, just 22% favor proposals by the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq to offer night trading, while 24% oppose them and 53% said they have no opinion. Both markets have recently delayed their plans to extend their trading hours.

Bullishness regarding U.S. stocks has declined, the poll also found. The survey’s index of investor optimism fell for the second straight month amid an expected rise in interest rates and a volatile market.

The index fell 25 points, or 16%, to 131 in June. It has dropped more than 20% in the last two months.