Global investor sentiment is down for the second consecutive month, led again by Europe, a survey indicates.
State Street’s Investor Confidence Index (ICI) fell 1.6 points from January to February to land at 92.9. A reading of 100 is neutral, meaning sentiment is currently negative.
It was the 9.3 points drop in sentiment among European investors that drove down the global index. Their sentiment registered at 83.3; by contrast, sentiment among North American investors rose 3.8 points, from 90.9 to 94.7.
“In February, global institutional investors continued to shy away from risk despite the ongoing uptrend in risky asset prices,” said State Street’s Ken Froot.
The only region with a positive reading last month was Asia, at 104 points. But even Asia suffered a 4-point decline in February.
The index measures sentiment using the buying and selling patterns of institutional investors.
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