The Global ICI fell to 101.4 in September, down 3.5 points from August’s revised reading of 104.9, led by sentiment in North America which declined 7.6 points to 104.5 from August’s revised reading of 112.1.
“September’s global reading on investor sentiment, taken before the [Federal Reserve Federal Open Market Commmittee’s] decision to delay the taper, gave back some of the recent gains but remains robust,” Harvard University professor and developer of the index, Kenneth Froot, said.
“Similarly, positive business confidence readings suggest that investors will be resilient to the reduction in the Fed’s asset purchases when they finally come.”
In comparison, Asian confidence rose by 2.1 points to 95.3 and European confidence saw a boost of 4.7 points to reach 101.7.
“There is a still sizable but narrowing gap between North American and Asian investors,” said State Street Global Exchange senior managing director and head of research and advisory services Jessica Donohue.
“The fear of the Fed’s liquidity withdrawal has had a proportionally larger impact in Asia where investors are also worrying about slower growth in China.
“With the worst of those fears yet to materialize, it will be interesting to see if this sentiment gap diminishes further next month.”
