It is not at all clear whether the 7,000+ respondents to this CNBC poll are more bullish or bearish on the stock market than the investing public in general. If they do represent the mood of the masses, then it looks like there is more work to be done to the downside this year and some assistance may be provided by the unfavorable months of September and October that now loom large for anyone with a sizable stake in equities.

Then again, retail investors have been mostly non-factors in the stock market over the last couple years, since being seduced by bond funds after the financial crisis hit. For anyone wondering about the direction of stocks, what would surely be more helpful is if they restricted this poll to hedge fund managers and HFT computer algorithms.

(Interestingly, when this item was first spotted a couple hours ago at CNBC, the results were closer to 34%/66%, so, confidence appears to be improving rather quickly.)