Investors do not believe stock market recovery is imminent

One in two investors do not believe the recent stock market recovery is sustainable. A survey by popular financial website The Motley Fool - Fool.co.uk - reveals that cynics outnumber optimists by two to one.

One in two investors (52%) say we are in a bear-market rally

One in four people (24%) reckon we are at the start of the next bull run

A quarter of investors (25%) have no firm view on where the stock market is heading

The FTSE 100 index has staged an impressive rebound from its recent low of 3,512 points on 3 March 2009. London shares bounced back by as much as 30% but have since retreated a little.

The FTSE is barely changed since the start of the year. It is 3.1% lower.

Over the same period, European shares are down 11% - Germany's DAX Index is 10% lower and France's CAC Index off 12%. So, London shares have fared better. They have also performed better than the Dow Jones Industrial Index, which is down 15%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index, which is 6.5% lower.

But the UK market has underperformed Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, which is 12% higher. China and India have done even better, with Shanghai's Composite Index rising 43% and Bombay's Sensex 30 Index jumping 34% since the start of the year.

David Kuo, Director at The Motley Fool, says: "The stock market is generally seen as a leading indicator of the economy. So, investors look forward to what is happening tomorrow rather than what is happening today or has happened yesterday.

"If investors believe that the recent rebound is a 'dead-cat bounce', then a swift economic recovery may be some way off yet. And recently revised figures from the Office for National Statistics appear to confirm this. It showed that the UK economy shrank 2.4% in the first three months of the year - the worst decline in 51 years.

"The upshot is that the stock market is likely to stay at current levels, until a clearer picture of current state of the economy emerges and there is greater clarity on how countries will cope with their national debts.

"It is tempting in these situations to take on extra risk for greater returns. But a more sensible option is to keep investing regularly in the market even on the inevitable down days and to reinvest the dividends too.

"It may not put jam on the table today, but the jam will taste all the sweeter in ten years' time.