Investor confidence ends the year on a weak note

State Street said the decline in sentiment was driven by Asia and North America. Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

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A key measure of global investor confidence has ended the year on a weak note as the big institutions continue to shy away from equities.

The State Street global Investor Confidence Index (ICI) for December fell to 94.2, down 3.4 points from November’s revised reading of 97.6.

The decline in sentiment was driven by a 6.7 point decrease in the Asian index to 109.1 along with a six-point decline in the North American measure to 87.5. By contrast, the European ICI rose 13.7 points to 100.1.

The index measures investor confidence or risk appetite quantitatively by analysing the actual buying and selling patterns of institutional investors. A reading of 100 is considered neutral.

It differs from survey-based measures as it is based on the actual trades of institutional investors.

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