Stock market confidence dips

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

INVESTORS' confidence in the stock market fell for the fourth month in a row during June despite the FTSE 100 rising, research showed today.

JPMorgan Asset Management said its investor confidence index dropped to a five month low of 61 during the month, 6 points lower than in May and 21 points below the level it reached in February.

The fall in confidence came despite the FTSE 100 increasing by 3.3% during June. In previous months, the survey was often been correlated with movements in the stock market.

JPMorgan attributed the drop to an increase in the number of investors who felt uncertain about the future direction of the market, rather than a rise in people feeling negative.

It said investors were now far more likely to want to put their money into fixed income products, rather than equities. Jasper Berens, UK sales director at JPMorgan Asset Management, said: 'In June, as in May, investor confidence appears to have been out of step with the stock market. The FTSE 100 continued to perform strongly, rising by 3.3% in June and hitting a succession of three-year highs.

'Despite this, investor confidence has once again fallen. This could be due to the fact that it will take time to rebuild confidence in the stock market, reflected in the fall in demand for equities, combined with a weak housing market and concerns over a possible economic slowdown.'

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