Financial advisors have become increasingly bullish on Canadian equities and the Canadian dollar, and more cautious on U.S. bonds, a recent survey shows.

In BetaPro Management Inc.’s Q1 2010 Advisor Sentiment Survey, which polled more than 350 advisors in December, 70% of respondents said they are bullish on the S&P/TSX 60 Index for the first quarter. This is up from 62% of advisors who said they were bullish on the index in the fourth quarter of 2009.

“Given that last quarter our respondents correctly called the direction of 12 out of 15 indices – an 80% success rate – their outlook is worth noting,” said Howard J. Atkinson, president of BetaPro. “This quarter they are more bullish on the broader Canadian market than on commodities or a specific sector, the first time this has occurred since we started tracking advisor sentiment.”

Advisors are particularly optimistic about energy stocks, with 69% bullish on the S&P/TSX Energy Index. In comparison, 43% are bullish on the S&P/TSX Financials Index, 55% are bullish on the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index, and a hefty 60% are bullish on the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index.

Advisors have also become more optimistic about U.S. equities. A total of 58% of advisors said they’re bullish on the S&P 500, up from 49% in the fourth quarter. Two-thirds of advisors are bullish on the Nasdaq – 100 index.

More than half of advisors – 52% — are bearish on U.S. 30 Year Bonds for the first quarter, up from 44% in the fourth quarter. Only 13% of those surveyed said they’re bullish in this category.

Natural gas received the highest rating for commodities, with 59% of advisors surveyed being bullish. In terms of other commodities, 54% of advisors are bullish on crude oil, 57% like silver and 58% are optimistic on gold.

Advisors also see continued strength in the Canadian dollar versus the greenback, with 60% bullish, as commodity strength is expected to provide ongoing support.