(Yicai Global) Sept. 13 -- China's Investor Confidence Index on the stock market stood at 58.6 last month, up 8.7 percent monthly, China Securities Investor Protection Fund's Analysis and Report on China Investor Confidence in August 2017 showed. The index showed a "stable" upward trend and hit a new high since January of last year.

Investor confidence on the domestic macroeconomy and economic policies continued to rise and the confidence index for domestic economic fundamentals reached 64.8, up 9.5 percent. The investor confidence on domestic economic policies favoring the stock market was 61.6, marking a monthly increase of 4.8 percent.

Analysts believe that the steady and improving trend of the macroeconomy remains unchanged, and China's gross domestic product in the first half of the year, private investment, manufacturing investment and other indicators beat expectations. With the accelerated pace of reform, the optimistic view on the medium- and long-term performance of the market led to a rise in confidence, Securities Daily reported.

Investor confidence in the international economic and financial environment reached 55.8, a monthly rise of 12.3 percent. Analysts believe that steady appreciation of the yuan supported by the growing economy spurred confidence, and the official opening of the Bond Connect stimulated enthusiasm for foreign capital investment.

Investor expectations on the market index rose significantly, and their confidence on market defensive strength continued to grow, resulting in an increase in willingness to buy. The market optimism index and market rebound index reached 60.8 and 53.6, up 12.6 percent and 5.5 percent respectively. Investors were increasingly bullish about the market's outlook.

The buy index reached 52.2 last month, surpassing 50 for the first time since November last year, indicating investors' willingness to buy. The stock valuation index rose slightly, and the overall index remained stable.

Over the short-term, the financing balance has continued to climb. The financing balance of mainland China's two major stock markets reached USD149.13 billion (CNY973.6 billion) as of yesterday. This shows that the market sentiment continued to improve, investors' appetite for risk grew, trading was active, and investors were relatively optimistic about the market outlook, said Yang Ouwen Chuancai, Securities Co. non-bank analyst.