Asian business morale rebounds sharply to 18-month highs - Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey

According to the latest Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey, the business morale among the Asian firms bounced sharply to hit 18-month highs in the December quarter. However, caution prevails, as trade war remains a top risk to companies' six-month outlook.

Key Findings

The Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index .TRIABS, RACSI tracking firms' six-month outlook jumped 13 points to 71 for the fourth quarter.

That lifted confidence from close to a decade low in the previous quarter to its highest since June last year.

The swing is also the strongest turnaround since the tail end of the eurozone debt crisis in 2011, when China was pouring stimulus into its economy as well.

Antonio Fatas, economics professor at global business school INSEAD in Singapore, noted: "Conditions, expectations and some of the uncertainty has improved over the last quarter," pointing to easing tensions between China and the United States.

“But I don't see this uncertainty disappearing, I think some of these tensions are going to stay with us maybe for years or decades," he added.