And, both reports offer a positive outlook on the stock market in the coming months. According to Lloyds TSB, although there was an increase of 17 per cent in the number of investors moving their cash to safety in the first six months of 2008, this subsided during the second half of the year.

In fact, Lloyds TSB found that 51 per cent of optimistic investors are confident in the future of the market and believe that ‘short-term blips’ should be ignored as stocks and shares should be a long term investment.

Commenting, managing director at Lloyds TSB wealth management, Nathan Moss said: “This data could indicate a turning point for the markets. We are seeing investors pausing before moving cash out of the FTSE and Government and global intervention is potentially beginning to restore faith.

“Whatever their next move, investors should seek expert financial advice and to be aware of the consequences of their actions before making a rash decision that they might come to regret.”

In a separate report, Halifax has found that the performance of FTSE 100 shares in January is a leading indicator of how the UK stockmarket will perform over the rest of the year, which looks promising considering it found that share prices increased by one per cent during the first week in January 2009.

Commenting, Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax Financial Services, said: “During the past thirty years, the performance of UK shares in January has provided a useful barometer of how the UK stockmarket is likely to perform over the remainder of the year.

“Encouragingly, UK share prices rose by one per cent during the first week of trading in 2009. If this trend continues for the remainder of the month there is a real chance that 2009 will be a good year for the UK stockmarket based on what has happened in the past.”

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