US investors increased their exposure to equities in January to the highest level in nine months, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, reflecting a shift in sentiment that has helped push the Standard & Poor's 500 index to a five-year high. Money managers raised the allocation of stocks in their global portfolios to an average 64.7 percent in January, the highest weighting since April.
The broad push back into stocks in January came after a last-minute compromise in Washington that averted a so-called "fiscal cliff" and put off decisions on government spending cuts and income tax hikes until later.
Concerns about the impact of the fiscal cliff had prompted US investors in December to cut their equity exposure to 59.1 percent of their assets, the lowest equity weighting since at least the financial crisis. Solid corporate earnings, seasonal inflows into the stock market and signs of an improving global growth picture also supported equities in January. Those factors helped drive the benchmark S&P 500 index to its highest levels in five years and saw it ratchet up an eight-day rally through January 25, its longest winning streak in eight years.
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