Confidence among global investors rose during February despite indications of an economic downturn, a new poll suggests.
The State Street Investor Confidence Index indicates that investor confidence was up to 73.0 during the month from January's figure of 69.5.
The findings mark the second month in a row that confidence has increased, with the index standing at 68.8 at the end of October last year.
Confidence among US investors rose fastest during the period, up 6.0 points to 78.2.
State Street attributes the findings to lower levels of volatility in the financial markets and has surmised that many investors also came to realise that some of their risk aversion in the second half of last year was unnecessary.
Commenting on the figures, Paul O' Connell of State Street, told the Reuters news agency: "We continue to see a fair degree of restraint amongst institutional investors, but this is balanced against a willingness to take on select risks.
"Country and sector allocations retain a defensive posture, but recent flows into market segments such as Latin America and global financials indicate a somewhat improved risk appetitive."
