The State Street Global Investor Confidence Index increased to 71.3, up 0.4 points from February’s revised reading of 70.9. Confidence among North American investors showed a slight improvement, with the North American ICI rising from 66.2 to 68.3.
The European ICI declined by 7.8 points to 88.4 and the Asia ICI increased by 3.6 points to 100.0.
“Investors continue to face mounting political risks, including the potential for a hard Brexit, a breakdown in US-China trade talks, and the potential for populist wins during the European Parliament elections in May. The heightened uncertainty appears to be driving North American and European investors away from risk,” says Kenneth Froot, who developed the index with Paul O’Connell.
“The recovery in investor confidence has been surprisingly shallow given the ‘V-shaped’ recovery in the prices of risky assets. Indeed, investor confidence declined even further in Europe as fundamental news continues to deteriorate,” says Michael Metcalfe (pictured), senior managing director and head of Global Macro Strategy, State Street Global Markets.
