Investor confidence has fallen to record lows for the second consecutive month, according to figures from Lloyds Bank.
On average, confidence across 10 asset classes was down 0.16 per cent on March, a fall of 14.45 per cent on the same month last year.
Overall confidence is now at its lowest level since the bank began publishing its index in 2013.
The bank said the European Central Bank’s surprise interest rate cut last month and gloomy forecasts for UK economic growth are likely to blame for the fall in confidence.
Month on month, confidence levels fell in six out of the 10 asset classes, with UK government bonds and UK corporate bonds the two biggest fallers, at -5.90 per cent and -4.88 per cent respectively.
There was a positive change in attitude towards Japanese equities however, up 7.94 per cent on last month, while confidence in UK equities rose 4.67 per cent. Sentiment in Eurozone equities also improved by 3.61 per cent.
The mixed results came despite an improvement in performance across all but one of these asset classes. UK government bonds were the only asset to see month-on-month declines in market performance, falling by 0.7 per cent.
Markus Stadlmann, chief investment officer at Lloyds Bank Private Banking, said the results show investor sentiment is influenced by “a combination of market movements, economic news and behavioral biases”, rather than just moving in line with market performance.
“The perception of economic data is currently so depressed, meaning that small improvements or surprise changes in economic statistics, which are always closely followed, can have a huge positive impact, potentially disproportionately,” he added.
