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Investor Confidence Index

April 20, 2004 08:45 GMT

Investor Confidence Index Shows Modest Decline in April

Macro Strategy Team , State Street Global Markets

Investor Confidence Index Shows Modest Decline in April

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Boston, April 20, 2004 -

State Street Associates, a subsidiary of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), the world's leading provider of services to institutional investors, released today the results of the State Street Investor Confidence Index^SM for April 2004.

According to the April index, investor confidence declined a modest 0.9 points to 90.8 from March's revised reading of 91.7.

Developed by Harvard University professor Ken Froot and Paul O'Connell of State Street Associates, the index shows that institutional investor confidence has begun to stabilize, having fallen sharply from its December 2003 high of 109.0.

?This is the fourth consecutive month where we have seen investors actively reducing their exposure to risky assets,? said Froot. ?While things are looking increasingly positive for output and employment, inflation and interest rate concerns weigh heavily on investors.?

?The worry is that rates may need to move powerfully upward because growth comes mixed with resurgent inflationary pressures. Add to that the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, and investors have a well-founded cause for renewed caution,? added O'Connell.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index^SM continues to become a key economic indicator for asset owners, investment managers and central banks. As the only index providing a quantitative measure tracking the common buying patterns of institutional investors around the world, the State Street Investor Confidence Index^SM offers a unique look into the investment behavior of thousands of professional investors.

About State Street Associates:
Founded in 1999 in Cambridge, Mass., State Street Associates develops portfolio and flow research, currency management, asset allocation services and designs strategy tools to support the needs of global portfolio managers.

About the State Street Investor Confidence Index^SM
The index will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern time in Boston on the second to last Tuesday of each month and released globally. More information on the State Street Investor Confidence Index, and a calendar of release dates, is available at http://www.statestreet.com/investorconfidenceindex. The previous month’s calculations for the index will be revised to account for trading activity through the end of the reporting period.

About State Street
State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the world's leading specialist in providing institutional investors with investment servicing, investment management, research and analytics and trading services. With $9.4 trillion in assets under custody and $1.1 trillion in assets under management, State Street operates in 24 countries and more than 100 markets worldwide. For more information, visit State Street's Web site at www.statestreet.com.

This news announcement contains forward-looking statements as defined by United States securities laws, including statements about the financial outlook and business environment. Those statements are based on current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including those related to the pace at which State Street adds new clients or at which existing clients use additional services, the value of global and regional financial markets, the pace of cross-border investment activity, changes in interest rates, the pace of worldwide economic growth and rates of inflation, the extent of volatility in currency markets, consolidations among clients and competitors, State Street’s business mix, the dynamics of markets State Street serves, and State Street’s success at integrating and converting acquisitions into its business. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by any forward-looking statements are set forth in State Street's 2003 annual report and subsequent SEC filings. State Street encourages investors to read the corporation's annual report, particularly the section on factors that may affect financial results, and its subsequent SEC filings for additional information with respect to any forward-looking statements and prior to making any investment decision. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, March 23, 2004, and the company will not undertake efforts to revise those forward-looking statements to reflect events after this date.

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