Chances that the Federal Reserve will roll out a third round of asset purchases from banks designed to spur economic activity and hiring are fairly remote, a Citi survey finds.

A poor March jobs report showing the economy added a net 120,000 jobs has sparked talk of a third round of such asset purchases, known technically as quantitative easing (QE) but charged by critics as printing money out of thin air.

Since the downturn, the Fed has injected $2.3 trillion into the economy via two quantitative easing rounds, known as QE1 and QE2 — and talk of a QE3 is brewing.

Editor's Note: You Owe It to Yourself to Know What Obama and Bernanke Are Hiding From Americans

"Over 90 percent no longer expect a U.S. recession this year and nearly 80 percent do not expect QE3 to be initiated this year," the Citi survey of big institutional clients finds, according to Business Insider.

The S&P 500 broad stock index should finish 2012 at around 1,422, up from 1,347 in January, while nearly 75 percent expect a close above 1,400, Business Insider adds.

More than 80 percent of those surveyed will channel additional money towards equities, with nearly 40 percent favoring U.S. stocks, the survey finds.

S&P 500 companies have posted strong earnings in recent quarters, and some experts say that trend will continue as first-quarter earnings start to roll out.

"Are we going to see 5-10 percent growth in earnings by almost all of the S&P 500? Probably," investor and strategist Dennis Gartman, author of The Gartman Letter, tells CNBC.

Current calls of up to 2 percent growth in numbers are "probably a bit on the downside," Gartman adds.

Editor's Note: You Owe It to Yourself to Know What Obama and Bernanke Are Hiding From Americans