Global investor confidence has been steadily creeping up this year, according to data from State Street. Its investor confidence index has gone from 76.4 in January to 77.6 in February, 81.3 in March, 83.5 in April and reached 89.8 in May.

“Further stability in the US banking sector contributed to a rebound in the North America ICI to 85.1, its highest reading in six months, although it remains the weakest regional reading,” Marvin Loh, senior global macro strategist at State Street Global Markets.

“In contrast, the Europe ICI reversed recent gains falling back below the neutral 100 line to 99.8, its lowest reading in six months, as its largest economy fell into a recession and inflation is expected to result in more tightening from the ECB. Asia subsequently posted the strongest confidence figure, rising to 101.1 as we near the end of the global tightening cycle.”

State Street’s index measures investor confidence or risk appetite by analysing buying and selling patterns, noted a from the firm, published on 31 May. A neutral reading of 100 means that investors are neither decreasing nor increasing long-term allocations to risky assets, said State Street.

Investor confidence in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) dropped from 111.2 in April to 99.8 in May--below the neutral reading of 100, noted State Street. North America and the Asia Pacific region saw the largest gains in investor confidence, from 75.5 in April to 85.1 in May for North America and from 89.3 to 101.1 for Asia Pacific.

State Street has $37.6trn assets under custody and/or administration and $3.6trn in assets under management as of 31 March 2023. It is active in more than 100 geographic markets and employs around 43,000 people around the world, including approximately 1,000 in Luxembourg.