Markets mixed but may be “nearing a bottom”

Markets were mixed on Friday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent but the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.1 percent and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.5 percent.

“Geopolitical tensions have subsided a little, but confidence hasn’t been fully restored,” said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, in a note.

Indeed, the latest sentiment survey from the American Association of Individual Investors showed a 6.1 percentage point jump in bearish sentiment.

However, David Templeton, portfolio manager and principal at Horan Capital Advisors, saw that as a reason for optimism.

“With much of the sentiment now decidedly bearish, just possibly the market is nearing a bottom,” he wrote.