May sees lower investor confidence in Asia

INVESTORS are showing a lower risk appetite in Asia this month, according to reports from the State Street Investor Confidence Index (ICI) and HSBC Global Research.

State Street's index, which measures investor confidence by analysing the actual buying and selling patterns of institutional investors, revealed that the ICI for Asia fell 10.6 points from last month to 104.4 points in May.

State Street's ICI also indicated a similar tempering of confidence for North America, with the North American ICI falling 6.4 points to 115.5. Investor confidence improved in Europe, with the ICI there rising 9.2 points to 111.2 points.