Investors pessimistic, confidence fell again in May: ING

Confidence among private investors fell again in May and remains very low. A large majority of investors saw the value of their portfolio fall in the past month, reported ING, which gauges sentiment in its Investor Barometer every month.

This is in contrast with April, when confidence actually picked up a bit. ING's indicator of investor confidence fell from 80 points in April to 73 points this month. This show that investors are more pessimistic than at the start of the coronavirus crisis. Confidence was lower only in February of this year. Any position above 100 indicates optimism, while a score below 100 indicates pessimism.

The decline in May fits in with a trend of "concerns about the economic situation in the Netherlands, the ongoing geopolitical tensions and rising inflation." According to 37 percent of investors, the war in Ukraine has the greatest impact on stock prices.

Shell was most often mentioned by the respondents as the most promising company in the AEX index to achieve a return in May. "The fact that Shell is again popular among investors after years will have to do with the price development," said Bob Homan, head of the ING Investment Office. "With a return of more than 40 percent, the share performs the best of all AEX shares this year."