India second most optimistic nation in Asia Pacific

India is the second most optimistic nation among the Asia Pacific Region after Myanmar, says a study.

According to the MasterCard consumer confidence index, the country scored 91.6 in the index which is calculated with zero as the most pessimistic and 100 as the most optimistic, while Myanmar's score is 97.2.

"The overall sentiment in the region witnessed a mild drop with the index score reading at 65.5 points in second half of 2014, from 68.3 index points in first half 2014.

The study found that India rates highest in its outlook towards employment prospects with a score of 93.5 index points in second half 2014 over 88.5 in first half 2014.

Among the cities polled in the survey, Bengaluru topped the list as India's most optimistic city with a score of 98.1 followed by Delhi with 97.3 points and Mumbai with 87.2.

The survey involved 8,235 respondents from 16 countries, aged 18-64, across Asia Pacific and was conducted between October 2014 and November 2014.

"The optimism reflected among the Indian consumers over the past few quarters remains intact. However, investors would look out for more concrete measures and announcements from the central government in 2015.

"For consumer confidence to remain buoyant, it is imperative that the government continues to be steadfast in its pursuance of key reforms - the benefits of which will eventually help further boost the consumer sentiment," MasterCard South Asia Area Head Vikas Varma said.

The study noted that the women of the country have a more confident stance on the economic outlook with a score of 91.9, 0.6 points ahead of men.

"Also, the younger generation of consumers (less than 30) are more optimistic, indicating the increasing opportunities ahead of them," Varma said.

While India's consumer sentiment rose 2.5 index points from 89.1 to 91.6, China rose up 2.7 index points to 85.3.

Japan was down by 17.6 index points at 34.2 and Hong Kong shed 13.5 index points at 40.9.