The investor confidence index is negative after six quarters at a maximum

MADRID, 1 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish investor confidence index stood at -0.21 in the second quarter of the year, the first negative result after six quarters at positive record levels, according to the confidence index of the international manager JP Morgan Asset Management.

In this way, an "exceptional period of high confidence and optimism" is closed, says the firm, which has specified that confidence in the stock markets seemed to pick up slightly in the months of April and May, a "logical" recovery after the "enormous "'Shock' caused by the invasion of Ukraine in March.

"The pessimistic trend in equities was clear from the historical maximum reached by the index just a year ago," said the sales executive for JP Morgan AM for Spain and Portugal, Francisco Márquez de Prado.

Among the results of the second quarter of the year, the disappearance of Covid-19 from the responses stands out. The number of investors who declare themselves pessimistic regarding the evolution of the Stock Markets represents 38% of the total, 14 points more than six months ago and 20 points more than a year ago.

Regarding the preference for the geographical areas where the stock markets will experience better behavior in the coming months, a very similar evolution to that of recent quarters is registered: 30.7% of those surveyed consider that Europe is the market most prone to rise, followed by the United States, highlighted by 24.2%, and the Spanish, by 21.3%.

The Asian market continues to lose attractiveness for Spanish investors and between the second quarter of 2020 and this quarter it has fallen 16 points.

The current economic context has caused a decrease of 1.6 points in the intention of direct investment in the Stock Market, while the fall in investment funds and pension plans has been 1.5 and 1.2 percentage points, respectively, as well as real estate assets, with a fall of 1.2 points.

On the contrary, the attractiveness of deposits and interest-bearing savings accounts or passbooks has increased by 2.4 points, as well as the number of people who say they will not invest in anything, which now amounts to almost 21% of the total.

Finally, in relation to the long-term investment forecast for retirement, the study highlights the "little interest of a large number of Spanish savers and investors" in saving or investing to complete their future retirement, with 45% saying don't save anything for it.

Of the 55% that do, the majority opt for private pension plans, while investment funds are the second most chosen option, followed by company pension plans.