State Street Global Markets (SSGM) Global Investor Confidence Index (ICI) fell 8.9 points to 91.9 in February, driven by large drops in European and Asian ICIs which decreased by 16.6 points to 78.1 and by 17.5 points to 98.2, respectively.
At the same time, the North American ICT also slightly declined by 2.8 points to 93.3.
According to Rajeev Bhargava, head of investor behaviour research, State Street Associates, the slower than expected vaccine rollout combined with the added complexity of new, potentially more infectious variants elevated growth fears, particularly in Europe where official growth forecasts were recently lowered.
“And while Asia continues to experience a rebound in activity on the back of strong exports, concerns over tightening credit conditions out of China may have dampened enthusiasm for the region, evident by the much weaker sentiment expressed by institutions this month,” he said.
The ICI measures investor confidence or risk appetite quantitatively by analysing the actual buying and selling patterns of institutional investors. A reading of 100 is neutral and indicating the level at which investors are neither increasing nor decreasing their long-term allocations to risky assets.
Challenger’s chief economist expects the US economy will see a prolonged recovery with President Donald Trump’s policies unlikely to have a lasting effect on equities and investments.
A research firm says errors are a “natural part” of running a company with humans and has reversed its previous poor rating for the exchange.
The world’s largest wealth manager remains overweight on US stocks spurred on by AI, but is taking a “granular” approach when assessing trade war damages.
Australia’s investment sector has averaged just 31 per cent alignment with mandatory climate reporting rules, new research has shown.