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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia:

State Street Investor Confidence Index (ICI) for August 2018 decreased to 94.3, down 7.4 points from July's revised reading of 101.7, according to the results released by State Street Global Exchange.

Confidence among North American investors declined, with the North American ICI decreasing from 103.1 to 92.5. Meanwhile, the European ICI rose by 8.1 points to 99.5 and the Asia ICI decreased by 0.9 points to 102.6.

"After a few months of caution and measured risk appetite, global institutional investors have started to display risk-averse behavior as they navigate through elevated trade uncertainty and geopolitical turmoil," said index developer Kenneth Froot. "This sentiment was also seen across global equity markets as defensive sectors outperformed."

Kenneth added: "The decline in confidence was particularly apparent for North American investors, with the North American ICI recording its lowest reading of the year."

State Street head of investor behaviour research Rajeev Bhargava noted volatility in the European index. "Looking at the regional breakdown, the European ICI has exhibited a lot of volatility this year," he said.

"President Trump's trade policies continue to stir up investor uncertainty, in addition to the renewed worries over Italy's debt burden," Rajeev added.

The Investor Confidence Index was developed by Kenneth Froot and Paul O'Connell at State Street Associates, State Street Global Exchang......................

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